Snyder’s of Hanover will purchase Utz Quality Foods, Inc., pending clearance from the Federal Trade Commission, Snyder’s president and CEO Carl E. Lee Jr. said yesterday. The terms of the deal were not disclosed

“[T]wo market leaders will be combining forces to create a stronger company that will strengthen our position in the marketplace, serve our retailers and vendors better, and continue to give consumers the brands and products that they have loved from both companies,” noted Lee.

Snyder’s chairman Mike Warehime characterized the acquisition as “the perfect marriage of two leading snack food companies whose relative business strengths are highly complementary in terms of product line and geographic reach.” He added, “Merging our companies together will bring out the best in our respective brands, our people and our cultures, and improve our long-term viability in the snack food industry.”

“We’ll be playing on the strengths of both companies as we move forward,” observed Mike Rice, chairman and CEO of Utz, which, like Snyder’s, is based in Hanover, Pa. “Our two companies have a lot of similarities: we are both privately held, family-owned and -operated businesses, and we have tremendous community involvement and support local initiatives for the betterment of our community.” Rice will become a director on Snyder’s board of directors once the deal goes through.

Snyder’s plans to continue operations in all four of Utz’s Hanover plants, as well as its existing plant there, and Lee anticipated no job losses as a result of the acquisition. “In fact,” he said, “as we develop our expanded portfolio of brands, we believe this will lead to additional sales and manufacturing jobs over time as we grow both brands and expand the new company.”

According Utz EVP, sales and marketing Dylan Lissette, the merger would enable the companies to combine their “strengths in product lines, brands and in our now stronger national distribution systems,” as well as to broaden their product reach.

Following FTC clearance, Snyder’s and Utz expect the deal to close by the end of this year.