Hain Celestial Imagines Growth in Natural Beverages
By George Anderson
Natural foods manufacturer, Hain Celestial, announced yesterday that it has acquired Imagine Foods.
Imagine Foods has a strong lineup of rice- and soy-based drinks that fit nicely within Hain Celestial’s beverage product portfolio. The newly acquired company also makes natural frozen desserts and organic soups.
Hain Celestial expects that the purchase of Imagine Foods will increase its earnings up to 11 cents per share in 2003.
Moderator’s Comment: What are your thoughts on Hain
Celestial’s acquisition of Imagine Foods?
Publicly traded companies sometimes go into the acquisition
mode to deflect investor and Wall Street attention away from a lack of organic
growth. That is not the case here. Imagine Foods’ product line nicely complements
existing Hain Celestial products in natural beverages, snacks and ready-to-eat
soups. [George
Anderson – Moderator]