Mizkan Expands Portfolio With Acquisition of World Harbors(R) Sauces & Marinades

MT. PROSPECT, Ill., Jan. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Mizkan Americas, a leading condiment manufacturer, today announced it has expanded its portfolio of high-quality, well-known brands with the purchase of World Harbors® Sauces & Marinades. With a state of the art production facility in Auburn, ME, the acquisition builds on parent company, Mizkan Group's plans for global expansion of its retail branded, food ingredients and food services businesses.

"This acquisition broadens our product offerings across several channels of trade, including supermarket retail and food service. Strategically, this purchase is in line with our roll up strategy for North America and Europe," said Craig Smith, President and CEO of Mizkan Americas.

The purchase brings to Mizkan Americas a full line of sauces and marinades, including the World Harbors® Brand and Buccaneer Blends® Barbeque Sauces.

"This acquisition further expands the Mizkan product portfolio and provides Mizkan with entry into additional categories within the supermarket channel," said Dennis Dedmond, Senior Vice President, Marketing & Strategic Planning.

The acquisition by Mizkan Americas will also include a U.S. trademark licensing agreement to produce and exclusively distribute Angostura(TM) Mixers in the U.S.A. Angostura is known for its bitters and mixers which can be used to bring flavor to a variety of drinks and food recipes, as part of Mizkan's objective to bring flavor to life. The licensing agreement allows Mizkan Americas to enter a new channel of trade that includes the liquor departments of supermarkets, liquor stores and on premise consumption. Mizkan Americas also received an exclusive US distribution agreement to market and sell the Angostura(TM) Aromatic Bitters product line to this new channel of trade. Also included in the acquisition is a U.S. trademark licensing agreement to produce and distribute a line of Angostura(TM) Sauces.

The World Harbors® transaction marks the fourth acquisition for Mizkan Americas in the past 4 years. In addition to the World Harbors® transaction, Mizkan Group Corporation, parent of Mizkan Americas, has added to MA's roster of high-quality, well-known brands with its purchase of the Holland House® brand of cooking wines from Mott's LLP, a Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages Company and the Creole Fermentation of Louisiana. More recently, Mizkan acquired the Gourmet and Specialty Division of Imperial Brands Inc., a subsidiary of Belvedere S.A. (France).

Winchester Capital served as exclusive financial advisor to Mizkan Americas, Inc. in respect of its initiation and execution of this transaction.

About Mizkan Americas

Mizkan Americas is a subsidiary of Mizkan Group and has a heritage in the condiment business that spans over 200 years. The company is a leading manufacturer of condiments in the United States with 13 manufacturing plants that serve the retail, foodservice, specialty, Asian and food ingredient trade channels. Since 2005, Mizkan Americas has seen dramatic growth due to the acquisition of Holland House® cooking wines and Imperial Brands Inc. Mizkan Americas produces a wide variety of vinegars, mustards, cooking wines, wine reductions, sushi seasoning, jellies, salad dressings, Asian sauces and other liquid condiments. Mizkan Brands include NAKANO®, Four Monks®, Barengo® and Mitsukan®. For more information about Mizkan Americas, please visit www.mizkan.com.

About The Mizkan Group

The Mizkan Group, a global food manufacturer, is the parent company of Mizkan Americas, Inc. The Mizkan Group is a 200-year old privately held international food manufacturer, based in Handa City, Japan. The Mizkan Group has a stable of well-known international brands, under the "mizkan" umbrella brand and is a leader in the liquid condiment category. The Mizkan Group has operating facilities around the globe, including Japan, China, the United Kingdom, the United States, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong & Taiwan.

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SOURCE Mizkan Americas