CHICAGO — Hometown Food Co. plans to acquire the iconic Chef Boyardee ready-to-eat pasta and Italian meals brand from Conagra Brands Inc. for $600 million.

The cash transaction, announced May 1, includes Chef Boyardee’s 820,000-square-foot production facility in Milton, Pa., and the plant’s 500 employees, plus all assets and operations related to the brand, said Hometown Food, owned by Greenwich, Conn.-based private equity firm Brynwood Partners. Under the deal, Hometown has agreed to license Chef Boyardee frozen skillet meals to Conagra.

Hometown said the transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025, pending regulatory review and customary closing conditions.

“We are thrilled to welcome Chef Boyardee into the Hometown family and will run the business from our corporate headquarters in Chicago,” said Tom Polke, president and chief executive officer of Hometown Food. “We look forward to working with the Conagra team to effect a smooth transition of the business.”

Chicago-based Conagra said the Chef Boyardee products included in the transaction generated net sales of about $450 million for the company’s 2024 fiscal year.

“The Chef Boyardee divestiture marks another milestone in reshaping the Conagra Brands portfolio for better long-term growth, while also paying down debt,” said Sean Connolly, president and CEO of Conagra Brands. “Despite the uncertain external environment, Conagra remains proactive in its pursuit of shareholder value creation. By deepening our focus on our leading, growth-oriented frozen and healthy-snacking businesses, we continue to build a more focused company with modern consumer brands.”

A more than 100-year-old business, the Chef Boyardee brand began when the chef Hector Boiardi immigrated from Italy to the United States in the early 1900s. Over the ensuing decades, its shelf-stable canned meals — including Beef Ravioli, Spaghetti & Meatballs, Mini Ravioli and Beefaroni — became a common sight in American cupboards. Chef Boyardee products, also offered in a microwave format, are sold in the grocery, mass and dollar retail channels nationwide, as well as in Canada and Puerto Rico.

Hometown said the addition of Chef Boyardee will lift its annual gross revenue to more than $1.6 billion and expand its production network to four manufacturing facilities in the Northeastern, Midwestern, South Central and Southeastern United States, with approximately 1,500 employees overall.

Chef Boyardee products included in the transaction generated net sales of about $450 million for Conagra’s 2024 fiscal year.

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Chef Boyardee joins an array of well-known center-store brands at Hometown. The company was formed by Brynwood in 2018 to acquire a portfolio of brands from The J.M. Smucker Co., including the US rights to Pillsbury shelf-stable baking products as well as Hungry Jack (pancake mixes and syrups), Martha White (flour, baking mixes and grits) and White Lily (flour, baking mixes and gravy mixes). Since then, Hometown has expanded its brand roster via its acquisition of Arrowhead Mills from Hain Celestial Group Inc. in 2019, merger with De Wafelbakkers in 2022 and acquisition of Birch Benders from Sovos Brands Inc. in 2023.

“The Chef Boyardee acquisition marks the single largest acquisition in Brynwood’s 40-year history,” said Henk Hartong, chairman and CEO of Brynwood Partners. “We are excited to add the iconic Chef Boyardee brand to the Hometown collection of nostalgic brands that offer a longstanding rich heritage. We have grown the Hometown portfolio by nearly twofold since we formed the business and are confident that we can reinvigorate the Chef Boyardee brand and extend into new formats quickly.”

Other food and beverage companies in Brynwood’s portfolio include Harvest Hill Beverage Co., Carolina Beverage Group, Great Kitchens Food Co., West Madison Foods and Miracapo Pizza Co. Brynwood said the addition of Chef Boyardee expands its manufacturing network to 20 US facilities — including four companies based in in the Chicagoland area and supported by six factories — with about 5,500 employees and more than $3.7 billion in annual sales.