Hain Celestial Group announces acquisition of Colorado-based organic and gluten-free company Rudi's Organic Bakery for US$61.3M

Nevin Barich

LAKE SUCCESS, New York , April 29, 2014 (press release) – Acquires Rudi's Organic Bakery, Inc., A Leading Organic and Gluten-Free Company in the United States

Expands Branded Grocery Product Offerings with Diversified Line of Bread and Baked Goods

The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAIN), a leading organic and natural products company providing consumers with A Healthier Way of Life™, today announced the acquisition of Rudi's Organic Bakery, Inc. ("Rudi's"), a leading organic and gluten-free company with facilities in Boulder, Colorado. Under the Rudi's Organic Bakery® and Rudi's Gluten-Free Bakery brands, Rudi's offers a range of approximately 60 products including USDA-certified organic breads, buns, bagels, tortillas, wraps and soft pretzels and GFCO-certified natural breads, buns, pizza crusts, tortillas, snack bars and stuffing in the United States and Canada.

In calendar year 2013, Rudi's generated approximately $60 million in net sales and is expected to be accretive to Hain Celestial's earnings in fiscal year 2015. The purchase price of $61.3 million consisted of cash and common shares of Hain Celestial. Rudi's was a portfolio company of Charterhouse Equity Partners LLC.

"We are very excited by the strategic acquisition of Rudi's, a leading certified organic bread brand, which expands our participation into 11 of the top 20 natural categories in the United States. At Hain Celestial we look for the latest trends, and consumers are increasing their purchases of whole grains, organic and gluten-free product offerings," said Irwin D. Simon, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hain Celestial. "As a company committed to driving product innovation, we plan to build upon Rudi's leadership position and see the opportunity to take Rudi's into other categories where the brand does not have products today. We have a proven ability to expand great brands and products into various channels of distribution including the conventional, mass and club channels where we see significant opportunities for increased distribution. We expect to deliver significant synergies through top line sales and bottom line cost efficiencies by effectively leveraging the platform of Hain Celestial US, as we have successfully demonstrated with previous acquisitions."

"I am thrilled for all of the employees of Rudi's that we are joining the Hain Celestial family! They are a leader in organic and natural products, and this will be the perfect home for our brand, an industry icon since 1976," said Jane S. Miller, President and CEO of Rudi's.

"As a company deeply rooted in Boulder since the 1960s, we are pleased to be increasing our presence in the community, and we welcome the Rudi's team to the Hain Celestial family as we seek to drive the next level of growth for the brand," concluded Irwin Simon.

Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2014 Earnings Report

Hain Celestial will host its third quarter fiscal year 2014 earnings conference call on Thursday, May 8, 2014 at 8:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time, which will include remarks on the strategic acquisition of Rudi's. The conference call will be webcast and available under the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at www.hain.com.

The Hain Celestial Group, Inc.

The Hain Celestial Group (NASDAQ: HAIN), headquartered in Lake Success, NY, is a leading organic and natural products company in North America and Europe. Hain Celestial participates in many natural categories with well-known brands that include Celestial Seasonings®, Earth's Best®, Ella's Kitchen®, Terra®, Garden of Eatin'®, Sensible Portions®, Health Valley®, Arrowhead Mills®, MaraNatha®, SunSpire®, DeBoles®, Rudi's Organic Bakery®, Gluten Free Café™, Hain Pure Foods®, Spectrum®, Spectrum Essentials®, Walnut Acres Organic®, Imagine®, Almond Dream®, Rice Dream®, Soy Dream®, WestSoy®, The Greek Gods®, BluePrint®, Yves Veggie Cuisine®, Europe's Best®, Cully & Sully®, New Covent Garden Soup Co.®, Johnson's Juice Co.®, Farmhouse Fare®, Hartley's®, Sun-Pat®, Gale's®, Robertson's®, Frank Cooper's®, Linda McCartney®, Lima®, Danival®, GG UniqueFiber®, Tilda®, Akash Basmati®, Abu Shmagh®, JASON®, Avalon Organics®, Alba Botanica® and Queen Helene®. Hain Celestial has been providing A Healthier Way of Life™ since 1993. For more information, visit www.hain.com.

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