Premium Brands Holdings Corp. (TSX:PBH) has acquired Seattle-based SK Food Group Inc. for approximately $42.5 million in cash and shares, it announced October 18.
SK makes artisan breakfast sandwiches and wraps and sells to customers across the U.S. and Canada from its 150,000-square-foot head office in Reno, Nevada.
Premium Brands CEO George Paleologou, who has completed about 40 acquisitions since 2001 – first as CFO and then as president and CEO – explained that the SK Food Group “fits perfectly with our core specialty food business strategies.”
The comparatively high Canadian dollar made the acquisition more affordable for Premium Brands and the general consensus among currency analysts is that the U.S. dollar will continue to weaken.
Paleologou told Business in Vancouver earlier this year that he makes acquisition decisions based on long-term considerations (See “Robust loonie has local companies eyeing cross-border shopping spree” – issue 1068; April 13-19).
“If the Canadian dollar is going to be at parity for a couple weeks, our acquisition strategy doesn’t change,” he said. “Let’s say we assess the situation and believe the Canadian dollar is going to be at parity or better for the next five years. The obvious answer is that we would look at expanding capacity down there more than up here.”
Those comments came after Paleologou completed buying an 80% stake in Vancouver-based pasta and sauce-maker Duso’s Enterprises Ltd. for $5.6 million in cash and stock.