FTC: We didn't stop chip acquisition

Information requested by the Federal Trade Commission in filings from Snyder's of Hanover and Utz Quality Foods is not public, according to an FTC spokesman.

[hanovergirl]

Makes you wonder why Snyder's was ready, willing and able to supply ALL the information the FTC was requesting but Utz's wasn't!!! Guess there are some things that Rice doesn't want to disclose, even for the sake of MONEY!!!!!!

[former chief]

Utz can still be a strong company without Snyder or anybody else. Even Frito Lay doesn't make a chip like Utz. Only the Gov. can screw up a good deal. Happy Days Wayne

[Resident]

The day after it was in the paper that Utz withdrew from the deal with Snyders, I heard that Coca Cola was buying Utz. Has anyone else heard anything about this?

[Amber in W Manheim]

Resident wrote:

The day after it was in the paper that Utz withdrew from the deal with Snyders, I heard that Coca Cola was buying Utz. Has anyone else heard anything about this?

New one to me. I even know people that work at UTZ too.

[Skeptic Al]

So, Utz took all their chips off the table.

[Jeff Spangler]

Utz's antitrust counsel may have advised that a "second request" review by the FTC would produce hard numbers on the anticompetitive effect of the merger which would make approval difficult. The legal costs of engaging in further review can be substantial, and if the odds are against approval, it's prudent to kill the deal. Nothing personal, nothing to do with chips or jobs-- just numbers.

[Hey - just my opinion]

Just makes you wonder what will happen down the road. When the Rice's are ready to retire, no family at the helm wanting to take over. I predict they will eventually sell to an outside company and that will open them up for moving the company to a more lucative operating state. Who would have ever thought Harley would consider leaving? It is a shame that government agencies drive many of these decisions. A few years ago when the hospital wanted to merge with Wellspan the Attorney General shot that down due to creating a monopoly by crossing service areas. The same thing is going to happen there - they can't survive on their own. Perhaps they will end up merging with a hospital in Maryland. The stand alone hospital is a thing of the past.

[holysheet]

I wish I were a family member, I would more than happily take over.

[Martin Herr]

Something just doesn't smell right with all of this. I wonder if UTZ was not working with a few other companies besides Snyders and when the word of the Snyder deal was announced some one came in to sweeten the deal. I am gonna guess that Frito-Lay might just be putting more spuds on the table.

[Chip Dip]

Martin Herr wrote:

Something just doesn't smell right with all of this. I wonder if UTZ was not working with a few other companies besides Snyders and when the word of the Snyder deal was announced some one came in to sweeten the deal. I am gonna guess that Frito-Lay might just be putting more spuds on the table.

Grandma Frito-Utz Chips? Maybe. Has a nice ring to it. Cha-ching!

[rgallant]

Jeff Spangler wrote:

Utz's antitrust counsel may have advised that a "second request" review by the FTC would produce hard numbers on the anticompetitive effect of the merger which would make approval difficult. The legal costs of engaging in further review can be substantial, and if the odds are against approval, it's prudent to kill the deal. Nothing personal, nothing to do with chips or jobs-- just numbers.

In simple language "its all about money"

[Truth of the matter]

Maybe Mike had a hard time explaining where that 400 million a year goes to, lol.

[think a little]

If Snyder's was struggling to buy Utz- what makes you think the FTC would approve Frito Lay to buy them? Nope. It will be some outside company- one all about the bucks that really WILL cut jobs. Rice is an idiot for backing out!

[hanover resident]

The article says that only 3% of acquisitions get to a 2nd request. The only reason for FTC to look at things closely is to make sure that the deal doesn't give a company too large of a market share compared to others. They do not pay attention to how much money is involved in a sale. They only look at what the merger/acquisition will mean to consumers. The questions asked in a 2nd request can require thousands of hours to answer. It is totally believable that the burden on a company the size of Utz to answer those questions could be overwhelming, and in the end, the approval may still not come through from the FTC. As was stated in a previous article the concern on Utz's side was that it would be too disruptive to business to try to comply with the information requested. I also think it is a wise business decision to not move forward with a detailed 2nd request based on the burden it would cause the employees at Utz and the risk of it not going through after all of that. I think it is suspicious that the FTC gave these two companies a hard time and it makes me wonder what connections Frito has in D.C. If the government is going to give 2 companies this size a hard time, then they would never just let a bigger company (such as Frito) buy Utz. It is foolish for anyone to speculate that Utz will just sell to anyone. You may think Mike Rice is only worried about money but unless you know him you would have no idea how he feels about his family business. Unless you know the people involved personally you shouldn't be speculating on things you know nothing about. Especially the idiot who said no family are involved in the business at Utz. The Rice's son in law is one of the senior management team.

[layed back]

Let's set the story sraight--the Rice family approaches Snyder's about the possible sale of their company.A year and a half of negociating takes place.Millons of dollars is spent on attorneys, accounts, consultants and not counting uppermanagement personel hours. A deal is struck insuring first and foremost job security, the continuation of the Utz name and quality products with tremedous expansion possibilities.A boost to the Hanover economy solidifing it as the snack food capital of the world. A legacy for the Rice family to retire having taken care of everyone from employees to our great town of Hanover and the Utz name, for who knows how many generations. This leaves one to ask ----was even another year of cumbersome paper work worth it????

[OMG]

hanover resident wrote:

The article says that only 3% of acquisitions get to a 2nd request. The only reason for FTC to look at things closely is to make sure that the deal doesn't give a company too large of a market share compared to others. They do not pay attention to how much money is involved in a sale. They only look at what the merger/acquisition will mean to consumers. The questions asked in a 2nd request can require thousands of hours to answer. It is totally believable that the burden on a company the size of Utz to answer those questions could be overwhelming, and in the end, the approval may still not come through from the FTC. As was stated in a previous article the concern on Utz's side was that it would be too disruptive to business to try to comply with the information requested. I also think it is a wise business decision to not move forward with a detailed 2nd request based on the burden it would cause the employees at Utz and the risk of it not going through after all of that. I think it is suspicious that the FTC gave these two companies a hard time and it makes me wonder what connections Frito has in D.C. If the government is going to give 2 companies this size a hard time, then they would never just let a bigger company (such as Frito) buy Utz. It is foolish for anyone to speculate that Utz will just sell to anyone. You may think Mike Rice is only worried about money but unless you know him you would have no idea how he feels about his family business. Unless you know the people involved personally you shouldn't be speculating on things you know nothing about. Especially the idiot who said no family are involved in the business at Utz. The Rice's son in law is one of the senior management team.

Finally the voice of reason speaks!!! Couldn't agree more. Mike Rice does not deserve the bashing he has received in these blogs. He has been a geneous supporter of the Hanover community for years. His donations are not done publically because he isn't interested in personal glory. He's a good employer and a smart business man. The FTC may not have given a definitive no to the deal but they were determined to hold it up in Committee. The real story here is why the FTC was giving a small merger like this such a hard time. Mike Rice still has enough insight to realize that just because you lose one battle doesn't mean you have lost the war. I'm sure what ever decision is made about the future of Utz it will be made with the employees and community in mind.

[Yeah Right]

hanover resident wrote:

The article says that only 3% of acquisitions get to a 2nd request. The only reason for FTC to look at things closely is to make sure that the deal doesn't give a company too large of a market share compared to others. They do not pay attention to how much money is involved in a sale. They only look at what the merger/acquisition will mean to consumers. The questions asked in a 2nd request can require thousands of hours to answer. It is totally believable that the burden on a company the size of Utz to answer those questions could be overwhelming, and in the end, the approval may still not come through from the FTC. As was stated in a previous article the concern on Utz's side was that it would be too disruptive to business to try to comply with the information requested. I also think it is a wise business decision to not move forward with a detailed 2nd request based on the burden it would cause the employees at Utz and the risk of it not going through after all of that. I think it is suspicious that the FTC gave these two companies a hard time and it makes me wonder what connections Frito has in D.C. If the government is going to give 2 companies this size a hard time, then they would never just let a bigger company (such as Frito) buy Utz. It is foolish for anyone to speculate that Utz will just sell to anyone. You may think Mike Rice is only worried about money but unless you know him you would have no idea how he feels about his family business. Unless you know the people involved personally you shouldn't be speculating on things you know nothing about. Especially the idiot who said no family are involved in the business at Utz. The Rice's son in law is one of the senior management team.

I also agree with your comments except your last line. When you called the person an idiot for saying no family members are involved. I do believe that person was stating that their is no more blood relatives interested in operating the business. Remember when Mike's two sisters were also involved, but his own children aren't interested, except for the son-in-law who needs the paycheck to support his family...I would call that marrying for the money. My opinion!

[hanover resident]

Yeah Right wrote:

<quoted text>
I also agree with your comments except your last line. When you called the person an idiot for saying no family members are involved. I do believe that person was stating that their is no more blood relatives interested in operating the business. Remember when Mike's two sisters were also involved, but his own children aren't interested, except for the son-in-law who needs the paycheck to support his family...I would call that marrying for the money. My opinion!

Another person making comments about people they know NOTHING about. Unless you know these people personally how would you know that he "needs the paycheck to support his family" or that "his own children are not interested." Perhaps the son in law works so that the daughter can stay home to take care of the family. In that situation she does care about the business by making sure that the business is still in the family but she takes care of their children. In my opinion that shows that they all care about the business and the future of the family. I am just shocked and disgusted that anyone would make judgements about people they do not really know. I think anyone with a negative comment ought to think about how they would feel if people made those types of comments about them. This is one of the biggest problems with our society today. People think they should be passing judgement on others when maybe they ought to look at themselves to find ways to improve.

[Beth]

I'm Happy that utz is not selling. Not many know that Utz sends packages of food for OUR TROOPS FREE !! We just pay for the product. I had gone to Snyders And I was so up set when I left there. I was told THAT THEY DON;T DO THAT !! I now go to Utz all the time to send my son cans of chips and etc for the guys and girls who are over in Iraq. God Bless them !! And THANK-YOU UTZ