Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ: CENT, CENTA), a Walnut Creek, California-based market leader in the Garden and Pet industries, is to acquire Green Garden Products, previously known as Plantation Products, for $532m from private equity firm Freeman Spogli & Co and other shareholders.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of fiscal 2021, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.

The addition of Green Garden’s brands will expand the Central portfolio into an adjacent category and strengthen the company’s relationship with major retailers.

Led by Michael Pietrasiewicz, President and CEO, and headquartered in Norton, Mass., Green Garden Products is a provider of vegetable, herb and flower seed packets, seed starters and plant nutrients in North America, shipping over 250 million seed packets annually. The company’s portfolio of brands includes Ferry-Morse® Home Gardening, Jiffy® Seed Starting, SUPERthrive® Plant Nutrients, Livingston® Seeds, Jiffy Hydro® Hydroponics, McKenzie® Seed, American Seed® and NK Lawn and Garden®. With production and distribution facilities in Ohio, California and Manitoba, Canada, Green Garden distributes more than 3,500 product SKUs to a network of over 70,000 retail locations across the home center, mass merchant, farm and independent, dollar store, and distributor/co-op channels in the United States and Canada as well as through its owned and operated websites.

Established in 1980, the company currently employs over 180 full-time employees.

Led by Tim Cofer, CEO, Central Garden & Pet has a portfolio of more than 65 high-quality brands including Pennington, Nylabone, Kaytee, Amdro and Aqueon, over 6,300 employees across North America and Europe, and 2020 net sales of $2.7 billion.