Cape Cod Chips Purchased In $5B Deal

BARNSTABLE, MA — Cape Cod's signature snack has a new owner. Campbell Soup on Monday announced it purchased North Carolina-based Snyder's-Lance for $4.9 billion. Snyder's-Lance operates Cape Cod-based Cape Cod potato chips and other brands including Snyder’s of Hanover, Lance, Kettle, Snack Factory, Pop Secret and Emerald.

Campbell's President Denise Morrison said Snyder's-Lance companies make "better-for-you snacks." The deal was announced as Campbell is reportedly struggling with lower soup sales as shares dropped nearly 20 percent this year.

"This acquisition will dramatically transform Campbell, shifting our center of gravity and further diversifying our portfolio into the faster-growing snacking category," Morrison said in a statement. "We look forward to welcoming Snyder’s-Lance’s employees and their trusted family of leading brands to our company.”

Cape Cod chips was founded in 1980. The company says its Hyannis factory, which employs more than 100 workers, is the Cape's biggest tourist attraction, drawing more than 250,000 visitors a year. The company is famous for kettle-cooking its chips.

Earlier this year, Snyder's-Lance considered moving Cape Cod chips out of Massachusetts but ultimately decided to spend $20 million to upgrade the Hyannis factory, according to the Cape Cod Times.

"We are excited to join Campbell and to continue to provide great products to our consumers with an uncompromising focus on ingredients, quality and taste," Snyder's-Lance President Brian Driscoll said in a statement.

Snyder's-Lance is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, and has about 6,000 employees at 13 manufacturing centers in the U.S. and United Kingdom.

Campbell shares are down 17 percent this year, according to CNN.

Related:

• Cape Cod Chips To Stay On Cape Cod

Lead photo: Cape Cod chips on display at the 2016 Vulture Festival at Milk Studios on May 22, 2016, in New York City. (Credit: Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Vulture Festival)