Amplify Snack Brands launches IPO to raise $225m

Snacks producer Amplify Snack Brands, which produces SkinnyPop popcorn, and Paqui tortillas and tortilla chips, has launched an initial public offering (IPO) to raise an approximate $225m.

Based in Austin, Texas, the company said in its securities filing that it intends to sell 15 million shares of stock at $14 to $16 per share.

The company’s existing stockholders, including certain directors and officers, are selling the shares. Since the company will not be selling any of the shares itself, it will not receive any of the proceeds from the IPO.

The company is aiming for a listing on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BETR.

Amplify Snack Brands, who reported revenues of around $132.4m in 2014, who claim that their products do not contain any genetically modified organisms and are free of gluten and allergens like peanuts.

The company focuses on developing and marketing products that appeal to consumers’ growing preference for better-for-you (BFY) snacks, such as SkinnyPop, a ready-to-eat popcorn brand, reports 247wallst.com. This year, it also acquired Paqui, a BFY tortilla chip brand.

Private equity firm TA Associates is said to have bought the stake in the company for around $320m in August last year in which around $150m came from a debt offering and the rest from TA’s equity stake, reported The Street.

TA currently owns around three-quarters of the company and will be offering 12.3 million shares in the IPO.

Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, Credit Suisse, and SunTrust Robinson Humphrey will be acting as joint book-running managers for the proposed offering.