Jelly Giant Adds Jif Peanut Butter To Fold

Add Jif peanut butter to the brands in the J.M. Smucker Co. grocery cart. In an all-stock transaction, the Proctor & Gamble Co. has agreed to merge the Jif peanut butter and Crisco cooking oil businesses into the Orville, Ohio-based J.M. Smucker Co. Smucker already produces a wide range of fruit spreads, ice-cream toppings, natural-foods beverages, and natural peanut butter. Prior to completion of the deal, the Jif and Crisco brands and associated assets will be spun off from Proctor & Gamble, Cincinnati, and then immediately merged with Smucker. Proctor & Gamble shareholders will receive one share of new J.M. Smucker stock for every 50 shares they hold in Proctor & Gamble. Based on Smucker's closing price of $25.89 on Oct. 9, this represents a pre-tax equivalent cash price of $1 billion. The transaction is expected to close during the second quarter of 2002.