Kraft Heinz announced Thursday it is selling its Planters nuts business to Hormel Foods Corp. for $3.35 billion in cash.

The company said the deal includes most products under the Planters label, including its Nut-rition products, Cheez Balls, Cheez Curls and Corn Nuts products.

"This is another momentous step in our rapid transformation of Kraft Heinz," CEO Miguel Patricio said in a statement. "It will enable us to sharpen our focus on areas with greater growth prospects and competitive advantage for our powerhouse brands."

Patricio said the deal will let Kraft Heinz push its Real Food Snacking platform that includes its Lunchables and its P3 meal alternatives.

Hormel said the Planters portfolio net sales were about $1 billion in the calendar year 2020 and are expected to grow. The acquisition includes production facilities located in California, Arkansas and Virginia.

"Planters is an iconic leading snack brand with universal consumer awareness," Jim Snee, president of Hormel Foods, said in a statement. "The Planters brand enhances our portfolio built for individual and social snacking occasions and perfectly complements our snacking brands such as Hormel Gatherings, Columbus, Justin's, Skippy, Herdez and Wholly. This acquisition also meaningfully broadens our scope for future acquisitions in the snacking space."

Kraft Heinz said it expects the deal to be completed by the first half of this year.

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