Dean Foods Scoops up Friendly's Ice Cream

Dean Foods Co., the largest U.S. dairy processor, agreed to buy the manufacturing and retail operations of Friendly's Ice Cream for $155 million to add another consumer brand and help build its business beyond commodity fresh milk.

The deal includes the Friendly's trademark and intellectual property, Dallas-based Dean said in a statement. The company will retain the Friendly's senior management team. It doesn't include the Friendly's chain of more than 260 restaurants; those will continue to be owned and operated by an affiliate of Sun Capital Partners Inc., which will license the trademark from Dean.

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