SkinnyPop maker Amplify Snack Brands announces IPO of common stock

The company, which is led by CEO Thomas Ennis, is most well-known for brands such as SkinnyPop Popcorn and Paqui Tortilla Chips, which it acquired in April of this year. Fifteen million shares of its common stock will be sold by shareholders, including directors and officers of Amplify. Underwriters will have a 30-day option to buy as much as 2.25 million additional shares of the company’s stock. The IPO is expected to be between $14 and $16 per share. The company will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “BETR.” Goldman, Sachs & Co., Jefferies, Credit Suisse and SunTrust Robinson Humphry will act as joint book-running managers for Amplify’s proposed offering. William Blair and Piper Jaffray will act as co-managers. Amplify has also filed a registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, but it has not yet become effective. Looking within the filing In the NYSE filing, Amplify said it is positioned as a “snack food company focused on developing and marketing products that appeal to consumers’ growing preference for Better-For-You, or BFY, snacks”. “Our anchor brand, SkinnyPop, is a rapidly growing, highly profitable and market leading BFY ready-to-eat, or RTE, popcorn brand,” the filing stated. “Through its simple, major allergen-free and non-GMO ingredients, SkinnyPop embodies our BFY mission and has amassed a loyal and growing customer base across a wide range of food distribution channels in the United States.” SkinnyPop’s success and “robust financial characteristics ,” combined with the management team, positions Amplify to be a leading BFY snacking company, according to the NYSE IPO filing. The company stated that the Paqui brand will allow them to grow even more with a second healthy snacking brand, as well as allow its retail customers to solidify vendor relationships in this better-for-you snacking category. Fast Growth, big expectations Amplify’s SkinnyPop was touted by the company as the “fastest growing brand of scale in 2014 ”, with more than a 40% sub-segment growth from 6.5% to 12.1%. The company believes this was driven by gains in distribution and sales velocity, as the velocity increased from $48 to $141 between 2012 and 2014. This highlights Amplify’s ability to grow store level productivity even as the number of retail locations where the snack was available increased, the brand said in its filing. “Despite our recent growth and a market-leading BFY presence, we believe significant opportunities remain for continued growth,” the IPO filing said. As of late Wednesday morning, Amplify did not return a call for comment.

SkinnyPop maker Amplify Snack Brands announces IPO of common stock

Austin, Texas-based Amplify Snack Brands has announced it will launch the initial public offering of its common stock, putting up 15m shares for sale.

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