Company: UTZ
Filing Date: 2025-02-20
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001739566-25-000053
Chunk: 41

Company: Utz Brands, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-02-20
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 41
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 complete acquisitions.

Any future acquisitions may pose risks associated with entry into new geographic markets, including outside the United States, distribution channels, lines of business or product categories, where we may not have significant or any prior experience and where we may not be as successful or profitable as we are in businesses and geographic regions where we have greater familiarity and brand recognition. Potential acquisitions may also entail significant transaction costs and require a significant amount of management time, even where we are unable to consummate or decide not to pursue a particular transaction.

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Even when acquisitions are completed, integration of acquired entities and business lines can involve significant difficulties, such as failure to achieve financial or operating objectives with respect to an acquisition; strain on our personnel, systems and operational and managerial controls and procedures; the need to modify systems or to add management resources; difficulties in the integration and retention of customers or personnel and the integration and effective deployment of operations or technologies; amortization of acquired assets (which would reduce future reported earnings); possible adverse short-term effects on cash flows or operating results; diversion of management’s attention from the operations of our business; integrating personnel with diverse backgrounds and organizational cultures; coordinating sales and marketing functions; and failure to retain key personnel of an acquired business. Failure to manage these acquisition growth risks could have an adverse effect on us.

From time to time, we also evaluate potential dispositions that align with our strategic objectives. The success of these initiatives depends on our ability to identify suitable buyers and negotiate favorable valuation and other risk allocation terms.  We also may not be successful in separating any divested assets or businesses, which could have significant operational impacts.  Further losses on the divestiture of, or lost operating income from, such assets or businesses may adversely affect our future earnings. Any divestitures also may result in continued financial exposure to the divested businesses following the transaction, such as through indemnification obligations. 

The geographic concentration of our markets may adversely impact us if we are unable to effectively diversify the markets in which we participate.

Our legacy business has been heavily concentrated in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. In recent years, however, through a series of acquisitions, we have expanded our geographic footprint to include locations across the United States. This expansion, however, is relatively recent and we remain subject to the risks associated with entry into new geographic markets, including failure to achieve financial or operating objectives with respect to the newly expanded regions. See “We may be unable to successfully identify and execute acquisitions or dispositions or to successfully integrate acquisitions