Campbell Soup had a craving for more snacks.
The soup giant ladled a $4.9 billion deal to acquire Snyder's-Lance, the maker of Snyder's of Hanover pretzels, Kettle chips and Pop Secret popcorn.
The deal will nearly double Campbell Soup's baked-snacks revenue, significantly diversifying the company's business.
The move pairs Snyder's pretzels with Campbell's Goldfish crackers, bringing about a whole assortment of new potential combinations for consumers to salivate about.
With revenue of about $2.2 billion for the 12-month period ended Sept. 30, Snyder's-Lance adds to Campbell's $2.5 billion in fiscal 2017 baked-snack product sales.
Campbell, which also owns the Pepperidge Farm and Arnott's brands, will now get 46% of its revenue from snacks, up from 31% before the deal.
The Camden, N.J.-based company will get only 27% of its revenue from soup.
"The acquisition of Snyder’s-Lance will accelerate Campbell’s strategy and is in line with our Purpose, ‘real food that matters for life’s moments,’" Campbell CEO Denise Morrison said in a statement. "It will provide our consumers with an even greater variety of better-for-you snacks."
With about 6,000 employees, Charlotte, N.C.-based Snyder's-Lance has 13 manufacturing sites in the U.S. and the United Kingdom.
It was not immediately clear how much overlap in operations the companies have. But most corporations seek to cut costs after a merger, and Campbell said it would pursue "synergies" with the expectation of increasing its profitability.
The move comes after Campbell announced a deal to acquire organic broth and soup maker Pacific Foods earlier this year.
Before that, the company's most recent acquisition was its June 2015 deal to acquire salsa and hummus maker Garden Fresh Gourmet.
Campbell will pay $50 per share for Snyder's-Lance, whose stock jumped 5.5% to $49.38 in pre-market trading Monday.
