Hershey Agrees To Buy KRAVE Jerky - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Candy maker Hershey Co. (HSY) has inked an agreement to acquire KRAVE Pure Foods, Inc., manufacturer of KRAVE jerky, a leading all-natural snack brand of premium jerky products. The transaction would allow Hershey to tap into the rapidly growing meat snacks category and further expand into the broader snacks space.

Michele Buck, President, North America, The Hershey Company, stated: "The KRAVE brand delivers on portable and protein nutrition while also understanding consumers' food preferences, including the desire for simple ingredients and transparency, something that is also a part of Hershey's strategic vision. We are excited to add KRAVE jerky's unique, chef-inspired products and be a part of this transformational category."

The overall meat snacks category is growing at a double-digit pace with a compounded annual growth rate of about 10% from 2010-2014.

In addition, the board announced quarterly dividends of $0.535 on the common stock and $0.486 on the Class B stock. The dividends are payable March 16, 2015, to stockholders of record February 25, 2015.