Snyder's-Lance Investors Balk at Purchase of Diamond Foods

  • Snack company joins growing list of acquirers facing backlash
  • Snyder's shares suffer worst decline in more than four years

Diamond Foods' brands include Kettle potato chips.

Photographer: Meg Roussos/Bloomberg
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Snyder’s-Lance Inc. shareholders aren’t happy about its plan to buy Diamond Foods Inc., part of a growing investor backlash against acquisitions.

After the company announced the $1.27 billion buyout this morning, Snyder’s shares tumbled 7.8 percent to close at $33.25 in New York. The drop represents the worst one-day decline in almost two years, underscoring concerns that the deal will add to Snyder’s debt without giving it a surefire growth engine.