Germany's Intersnack takes US snack maker Utz private
Money MovesA 91% premium ends Utz's six-year run on public markets and splits ownership between Intersnack and the founding family
July 21st, 2026: Intersnack agrees to take Utz privateNew here? Follow stories to track developments over time. Create a free account to get updates when stories you care about change.
Overview
Utz has made potato chips and pretzels in Hanover, Pennsylvania, since 1921. After almost six years on the New York Stock Exchange, its founding family is joining a German snack maker to take the company private again.
Intersnack will pay $14.25 a share in cash. That is a 91% premium over Utz's prior close and values the company at about $2.9 billion. Once the deal closes, Intersnack and the Rice and Lissette family entities will each own half of Utz, and the stock will stop trading.
Why it matters
A 105-year-old American snack brand is leaving public markets, folding into a European snack giant at nearly double its share price.
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People Involved
Organizations Involved
US maker of potato chips, pretzels, and salty snacks based in Hanover, Pennsylvania.
German family-owned snack maker and one of Europe's largest independent producers of chips and nuts.
Timeline
January 1921 July 2026
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Intersnack agrees to take Utz private
Latest DealUtz announces an all-cash agreement to be bought by Germany's Intersnack for $14.25 a share, about $2.9 billion. Intersnack and the founding families will each own half; the stock will delist.
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Utz goes public via SPAC
CorporateUtz merges with Collier Creek Holdings and begins trading on the NYSE under the ticker UTZ. The founding families keep a large stake.
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Utz founded in Pennsylvania
OriginThe Utz family starts a pretzel and chip business in Hanover, Pennsylvania.
Historical Context
3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.
JAB Holding takes Panera Bread private (2017)
JAB Holding, the investment arm of Germany's Reimann family, bought Panera Bread for about $7.5 billion and pulled it off public markets. JAB had already assembled Keurig, Peet's, and Krispy Kreme.
Panera left the stock market and stopped filing quarterly results, giving JAB room to reshape it without public scrutiny.
The deal showed European family capital could take large US food brands private and run them for years outside public markets.
Like Intersnack with Utz, a European family holding used private ownership to take control of a well-known American food brand.
Ferrero buys Nestlé's US candy business (2018)
Italy's family-owned Ferrero paid about $2.8 billion for Nestlé's US confectionery unit, gaining brands such as Butterfinger and Baby Ruth. It was Ferrero's largest push into the American market.
Ferrero jumped into the top ranks of US candy makers overnight and added US factories to its network.
The deal is a template for a European family snack company using acquisitions to build American scale.
Intersnack is making a similar move: a European family-owned snack maker buying its way into the US market in one large deal.
Campbell acquires Snyder's-Lance (2018)
Campbell Soup bought Snyder's-Lance, the maker of pretzels and Cape Cod chips, for about $6.1 billion. The deal folded a major independent salty-snack maker into a larger food company.
Campbell gained a large chips-and-pretzels business but took on heavy debt to pay for it.
It marked a wave of consolidation that has left fewer independent US salty-snack makers standing.
Utz is one of the last big independent US salty-snack makers; this deal continues the consolidation Snyder's-Lance started.
