{"url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-14/utz-brands-michael-rice-dies","markdown_url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-14/utz-brands-michael-rice-dies.md","title":"Utz Brands Chairman Emeritus Michael Rice Dies at 84","headline":"Utz Brands Announces Death of Chairman Emeritus Michael W. Rice, Leader for Over 50 Years","description":"Michael W. Rice, Utz Brands chairman emeritus and leader for over 50 years, died October 10 in Hershey, PA, the company said.","section":"Leadership","published_at":"2026-10-14T18:06:03+00:00","modified_at":"2026-10-14T18:06:03+00:00","author":"News Desk","key_takeaways":["Michael W. Rice, who led Utz for over fifty years and served as chairman emeritus, died on October 10 in Hershey, PA.","Utz said the passing of Rice does not impact the planned fourth-quarter 2026 closure of its transaction with Intersnack Group.","The planned private ownership structure gives the Rice and Lissette Family and Intersnack Group each 50% of Utz."],"companies":[{"name":"Utz Brands","is_primary":true,"profile_url":"https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0000hhz/utz-brands","website":"http://www.utzsnacks.com"},{"name":"Intersnack Group","is_primary":false,"profile_url":"https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0006k1c/intersnack-group","website":"https://www.intersnackgroup.com"}],"source":{"publisher":"Business Wire","title":"Utz Brands Chairman Emeritus Michael Rice Dies","url":"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261014700325/en/"},"other_sources":[],"tags":["Leadership","Utz Brands","Intersnack Group"],"body_markdown":"[Utz Brands](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0000hhz/utz-brands) announced that Michael \"Mike\" W. Rice, its chairman emeritus and a leader of the company for over fifty years, died on October 10 in Hershey, PA, surrounded by his family. The Hanover, Pennsylvania-based snack maker said the passing of Rice does not impact the planned closure of its transaction with [Intersnack Group](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0006k1c/intersnack-group) in the fourth quarter of 2026. The announcement was distributed by [Business Wire](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261014700325/en/).\n\n## Michael Rice's Fifty Years at Utz\n\nRice was born on October 4, 1942, the son of Francis Xavier Rice and Arlene Utz Rice, whose mother was a daughter of Utz founders Bill and Salie Utz. He began working at the family business at 11, unloading 100-pound burlap potato sacks in the summers, and formally joined Utz in 1968 after earning a law degree from George Washington University Law School. He became executive vice president in 1970, president and chief executive officer in 1978, and chairman and CEO in 1992.\n\nIn 2012, Rice moved into the role of executive chairman, turning day-to-day senior leadership to Dylan Lissette, a fourth-generation family member through his marriage to Rice's daughter Stacie. Utz became a publicly traded company in 2020, after which Rice served as a director and chairman emeritus on the board. He retired from the board in August 2024 and continued to serve in an advisory capacity. In December 2024, Utz opened a 650,000-square-foot national logistics hub in Hanover and named it the Rice Distribution Center.\n\n\"Mike is a true Utz icon whose contributions to the company are too numerous to count,\" said Howard Friedman, chief executive officer at Utz. \"What was always clear was Mike's belief and treatment of the associates of this company as family. His legacy at Utz will forever live on.\"\n\nLissette, chairperson of the Utz board, said: \"After 30-plus years of working aside Mike, I can easily say that there was no other individual who contributed so much to the success of this business over the last 50 plus years.\"\n\n## Utz's Planned Ownership With Intersnack\n\nOn July 20, 2026, Utz announced its intention to partner with Intersnack Group GmbH & Co. KG to return Utz to private company status, with the Rice and Lissette Family and Intersnack Group each owning 50% of Utz. Intersnack Group agreed to acquire Utz Brands for approximately $2.9 billion in cash, offering $14.25 per share, a 91% premium to the stock price before the deal was announced, according to Yahoo.\n\n## Utz's Leadership and Scale\n\nAccording to akta.pro [company records](https://akta.pro/company-data), Utz reported full-year 2025 net sales of $1.44 billion, up 2.1% year-over-year, and Q1 2026 revenue of $361.3 million with 2.6% year-over-year growth. The same records list Howard Friedman as chief executive officer, Dylan Lissette as non-executive chairman of the board, Cary Devore as executive vice president and chief operating officer, and Ajay Kataria as executive vice president and chief financial officer.\n\n## Earlier Utz Developments\n\nIn September 2026, Utz Quality Foods launched a $1.1 billion term loan B to finance its acquisition by Intersnack, with commitments due September 16, according to PitchBook. Utz Brands declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of approximately $0.063 per share on its Class A Common Stock in September 2026, with payment expected on October 1, 2026, according to FinancialContent Business Page. In October 2026, law firm Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC said it was investigating the proposed sale of Utz Brands to Intersnack Group and whether the $14.25 per share cash offer is adequate, according to FinancialContent Business Page.\n","publisher":{"name":"News for Agent","url":"https://newsforagent.com"}}