Intersnack to Buy Utz Class A Stock for $14.25 a Share in Cash, at About $2.9 Billion Enterprise Value

The Tip Desk · November 7, 2026 · 2 min read

The German snack maker will take Utz private at $14.25 a share, with the Rice and Lissette family keeping a 50% stake.

Intersnack Group GmbH & Co. KG agreed to acquire all outstanding Class A common stock of Utz Brands, Inc. (UTZ) for $14.25 a share in cash, an enterprise value of approximately $2.9 billion.

The price represented a premium of approximately 91% over Utz’s July 20, 2026 closing price, the companies said. Certain subsidiaries of Intersnack Group will buy the shares, after which Utz will become a private company with the Rice and Lissette Family Entities and a subsidiary of Intersnack Group each owning 50% of Utz Brands Holdings, LLC. The companies expect the transaction to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to satisfaction of closing conditions.

Intersnack, a family-founded, privately owned multinational snack company that started as a German potato chip producer in 1968, said the deal expands its exposure to the U.S. snack market and gives Utz access to Intersnack’s resources and innovation. Utz, a leading U.S. manufacturer of branded salty snacks, sells products including Utz, On The Border Chips & Dips, Zapp’s and Boulder Canyon through grocery, mass merchandiser, club, convenience and drug channels from manufacturing facilities across the United States. The company said it will maintain its commitment to the Hanover, Pennsylvania, community.

Utz had already been moving toward a private structure. On July 20, 2026, it entered definitive agreements under which it would be acquired by an Intersnack subsidiary, and it said it would not provide a 2026 outlook or host a conference call on second-quarter results because of the pending take-private. After closing, the Rice and Lissette family and Intersnack Group will each own 50% of Utz.

In the thirteen weeks ended September 27, 2026, Utz reported net sales of $369.2 million, down from $377.8 million a year earlier, and a net loss of $32.1 million, compared with a net loss of $20.2 million in the year-ago quarter. Loss from operations was $21.7 million. For the thirty-nine weeks ended September 27, 2026, net sales were $1.1023 billion and the company recorded a net loss of $50.5 million. Cash and cash equivalents stood at $70.1 million as of September 27, 2026.

Howard Friedman, who has led Utz as chief executive, said he has been proud to serve as CEO for nearly four years and remains focused on supporting Utz’s transition to a private company and John Lindeman’s transition to CEO in the coming weeks following the expected closing of the transaction.