November 12/Insurance Business Weekly -- Snyder's of Hanover and Utz Quality Foods announced their decision to discontinue pursuit of the merger between the two snack food companies. After receiving word late last week that the first and second filing had not been cleared by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Utz decided to withdraw from what would likely have been a protracted approval process.
"Although we recently announced our intended merger with Utz Quality Foods, it was contingent upon FTC clearance," noted Carl E. Lee, Jr., president and CEO of Snyder's of Hanover. "While the decision was unexpected, it's best that Snyder's move on to other opportunities that are available to our company."