The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. announced today that it has bought a minority stake in Bonnie Plants Inc., the largest provider in the U.S. of potted vegetables and herbs sold to gardeners through a variety of retail outlets. Bonnie is owned by privately-held Alabama Farmers Cooperative (AFC). Scotts said the AFC board has approved the deal and closing is dependent on approval by AFC members as well as restructuring of existing financing.
In other news, Scotts reported a 14 percent increase in net sales to $245.7 million for the first quarter ending Jan. 2, 2016, from the year-ago $216.2 million. Scotts said the uptick was due to strong shipments in core U.S. markets, new acquisitions as well as the current quarter including an extra six days versus the year-ago period. The latter added another $15 million to sales. The company reported a seasonal loss of $80.8 million ($1.32 per diluted share) compared to the year-ago loss of $74 million ($1.23 per share).