Bell Nursery Acquired by Central Garden & Pet

Bell Nursery Acquired by Central Garden & Pet

Gary Mangum is CEO of Bell Nursery

Greenhouse Grower just learned that Bell Nursery, headquartered in Elkridge, MD, has been acquired by Central Garden & Pet Company, a leading innovator, producer, and distributor of branded and private label products for the lawn & garden and pet supplies markets. Bell Nursery Holdings, LLC, is one of the largest commercial growers of flowers and plants in the Eastern U.S. and the largest in the mid-Atlantic region. Bell Nursery has facilities in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, and Delaware. With 7,400,000 square feet of environmentally controlled greenhouses and an extensive contract grower network, Bell Nursery was ranked No. 7 on Greenhouse Grower’s 2017 Top 100 Growers list. Central Garden & Pet expects the acquisition to be accretive in fiscal 2018, according to a Business Wire release.

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Greenhouse Grower learned earlier this spring that Bell Nursery had expanded its reach by taking over production and merchandising services for a significant number of The Home Depot’s Michigan stores. Bell Nursery sells exclusively to The Home Depot, and is one of the retailers’ largest suppliers, servicing 300 stores.

“We are excited to add Bell Nursery’s live plant business to Central’s broad garden products portfolio,” said George Roeth, President & CEO of Central Garden & Pet in the Business Wire release. “We view the live plant area as an attractive growth opportunity that is growing faster than the overall garden industry and is synergistic with our existing garden portfolio. In addition, Bell’s focus on quality and excellence in customer service are compatible with Central’s way of doing business. We look forward to working with the management team at Bell, who are remaining with the company, to grow the business profitably in the years ahead.”

Head Grower Of The Year winner Tom Wheeler (middle) from Bell Nursery with Editor Laura Drotleff and Joe Lara of BASF, the sponsor of the Grower of the Year program

Greehouse Grower’s Head Grower of the Year in 2015 was Bell Nursery’s Tom Wheeler (middle), pictured with Editor Laura Drotleff and sponsor Joe Lara of BASF.

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Greenhouse Grower has confirmed the sale with Bell Nursery CEO Gary Mangum, who says this is the start of a new chapter that Bell Nursery is very excited about. Stay tuned for a follow up interview and information about this acquisition and what Central Garden & Pet’s investment means for Bell Nursery’s business structure and the broader industry.

According to the Business Wire release, Central Garden & Pet Company is a leading innovator, producer, and distributor of branded and private label products for the lawn and garden and pet supplies markets. Its products are sold to specialty independent and mass retailers. Participating categories in its lawn and garden holdings include grass seed, wild bird feed, weed and insect control, and decorative outdoor patio products. It also provides a host of other regional and application-specific garden brands and supplies. Key brands in lawn and garden include Pennington, The Rebels, Amdro, Sevin, and Over-n-Out. In the pet sector, it holds a number of name brands and regional brands. Central Garden & Pet is based in Walnut Creek, CA, and has 4,200 employees primarily in North America.

The acquisition announcement via Business Wire is classified under a Safe Harbor Statement.

This story will continue on GreenhouseGrower.com as updates become available.

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