Benzinga | Nov 4, 2020 07:07AM EST

ScottsMiracle-Gro Announces Letter Of Intent To Enter 50/50 Joint Venture For Bonnie Plants

Separately, the Company announced it has signed a non-binding letter-of-intent to acquire a 50 percent equity stake in the Bonnie Plants business. The proposed transaction would be structured as a 50/50 joint venture with Alabama Farmers Cooperative, Inc., the current owner of Bonnie Plants. The proposed deal remains subject to antitrust clearance, due diligence and negotiation of definitive agreements and is expected to close around the end of the calendar year. While the impact of the proposed transaction is expected to be accretive to earnings in fiscal 2021, it is not contemplated in the Company's current guidance. Financial terms are not being disclosed at this time.

The proposed transaction would replace an existing relationship that gives ScottsMiracle-Gro a 25 percent financial interest in Bonnie Plants based on financing ScottsMiracle-Gro provided in 2016. As part of the proposed transaction, ScottsMiracle-Gro also would relinquish its previously negotiated option to become the majority owner of Bonnie Plants.

"There is no gardening without plants, which makes live goods the engine that drives this industry," Hagedorn said. "We are especially enthusiastic about edible gardening, a category that has been growing for years and resonates especially well with millennial consumers. Our relationship with Bonnie Plants over the past five years has been beneficial to both parties and we look forward to working together to take the edible gardening category to new heights."