Central Garden & Pet To Acquire Hopewell Nursery

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Transaction Builds Further Scale in the Garden Industry’s Attractive Live Goods Category

WALNUT CREEK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ: CENT, CENTA) (“Central”), a market leader in the garden and pet industries, announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Hopewell Nursery, a leading live goods grower serving retail nurseries, landscape contractors, wholesalers and garden centers across the Northeast. The addition of Hopewell Nursery to the Central portfolio further bolsters its position as a leading live goods provider in the garden segment. The Hopewell acquisition follows the Company’s successful addition of Bell Nursery in 2018.

“We are pleased to welcome Hopewell Nursery into the Central Garden & Pet portfolio and further expand our live goods business,” said Tim Cofer, CEO of Central. “Acquisitions are a key focus of our new Central to Home strategy, and we believe adding Hopewell to our portfolio will help us build scale, enter priority adjacencies, and better serve consumers with more high-quality live goods offerings.”

Hopewell Nursery, with headquarters in Bridgeton, NJ, was founded in 1988. Today, the company owns over 1,800 acres of farmland in New Jersey and Maryland, which include over 9.5 million square feet of polyhouse production, 100 acres of pot-in-pot production and offers over 2,000 different varieties of plants, mostly in the trees and shrubs categories. The company currently employs approximately 500 people.

Hopewell will be a part of the Central Garden segment led by J.D. Walker, President, Garden Consumer Products. Central Garden & Pet’s Brett Guthrie, Chief Operating Officer of Bell Nursery, will oversee the company’s live goods business, and the day-to-day operations will continue to be run by current Hopewell employees.

The transaction is expected to close on December 31, 2020. Purchase price and other terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

About Central Garden & Pet

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ: CENT, CENTA) understands that home is central to life and has proudly nurtured happy and healthy homes for over 40 years. With 2020 sales of $2.7 billion, Central is on a mission to lead the future of the pet and garden industries. The Company’s innovative and trusted products are dedicated to help lawns grow greener, gardens bloom bigger, pets live healthier and communities grow stronger. Central is home to a leading portfolio of more than 65 high-quality brands including Pennington, Nylabone, Kaytee, Amdro and Aqueon, strong manufacturing and distribution capabilities and a passionate, entrepreneurial growth culture. Central Garden & Pet is based in Walnut Creek, California and has over 6,300 employees across North America and Europe. For additional information about Central, please visit the Company’s website at www.central.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, could be deemed forward-looking statements. Statements in this press release concerning Central’s business, strategy and focus; our agreement to acquire Hopewell Nursery; the ability to build scale in the live goods business and enter priority adjacencies; and our overall future prospects are forward-looking statements that involve a number of uncertainties and risks. Actual results or events could differ materially from those anticipated in those forward-looking statements as a result of several factors, including, without limitation, our ability to close the contemplated acquisition in a timely basis or at all, our ability to integrate the acquired company, potential benefits of the transaction to Central and our customers, and other factors listed in our annual report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All statements made in this press release are made only as of the date of this press release. Central undertakes no obligation to update the information in this press release in the event facts or circumstances subsequently change after the date of this press release.

Investor Relations Contact:
Friederike Edelmann
(925) 948-3657
fedelmann@central.com

Media Relations Contact:
Liz Nunan
(925) 878-9465
lnunan@central.com

Source: Central Garden & Pet Company

Released December 17, 2020