Premium Brands Holdings Corporation Announces Acquisition of Isernio's

VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - July 07, 2015) - Premium Brands Holdings Corporation (TSX: PBH), a leading producer, marketer and distributor of branded specialty food products, announced today that it has acquired Isernio's Inc. through its Ferndale, WA based subsidiary, Hempler Foods Group LLC.

Isernio's, which was founded by Mr. Frank Isernio in 1980, is a leading premium fresh sausage brand in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. It operates out of a new 28,000 square foot production facility based in Kent, WA, and has annual sales of approximately US$14 million.

"We are very honoured to become the new owner of this great company," said Mr. George Paleologou, President and CEO of Premium Brands. "This will bring together two of the U.S. Pacific Northwest's most iconic specialty packaged meat brands: Hempler's and Isernio's. Both are known for great tasting, top quality products made with wholesome ingredients and long histories of involvement with their local communities.

"Isernio's met all of our acquisition criteria including a strong management team, an authentic specialty foods brand and a niche market based business strategy. Furthermore, Isernio's culture of strong family values and its unrelenting dedication to producing the highest quality products make it a perfect fit with Hempler's.

"Looking forward, we are very confident that Isernio's, which has been growing at double digit rates in recent years, will be able to further accelerate its growth by leveraging Premium Brands' sales and marketing infrastructure in the US and our Canadian operations' infrastructure in Canada," added Mr. Paleologou.

"I am very pleased to welcome the Isernio's team to the Hempler's family," said Mr. Stephen Bates, President of Hempler's. "We have known and respected Mr. Isernio and his management team for many years and are very much looking forward to working with them.

"I am also very excited to be adding a second production facility to our group as our compounded growth of more than 20% over the past several years has created ongoing production capacity challenges for us," added Mr. Bates.

"I believe that Premium Brands and Hempler's are the right partners for the business, based on our common cultures, shared values and commitment to producing premium quality products. I am certain that this is the right path for Isernio's and its employees," said Mr. Frank Isernio, President, CEO and founder of Isernio's.