Dean Foods - History

History

In 1925, Samuel E. Dean purchased the Pecatonica Marketing Company, an evaporated milk processing facility located in northwestern Illinois. In 1927, Dean renamed it Dean Evaporated Milk Company. That same year, he purchased some local Illinois dairy plants. "Through thoughtful acquisitions and careful financial management, Dean Foods Company has grown from a small regional dairy into a diversified food company."

Dean Foods tried to merge with a dairy in Chicago but was blocked by an injunction based on antitrust concerns. Dean Foods fought the decision up to the Supreme Court but ultimately lost in Federal Trade Commission v. Dean Foods Co.

On December 21, 2001, Dean Foods was acquired by the Dallas-based Suiza Foods Corporation. Suiza began in 1995, when Gregg L. Engles, owner of commercial ice company Reddy Ice merged Reddy with Suiza Dairy, which Engles had acquired in 1993. After the merger of Reddy and the dairy acquisitions, the company became Suiza Foods Corporation. Although Suiza was the nominal survivor, it changed its name to Dean Foods, changed its ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange from “SZA” to “DF” and moved all of its operations to Dallas. On March 29, 2006, Dean Foods was added to the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index. The headquarters for Dean Foods was also moved to Dallas after the merger with Suiza Foods. The company moved to Cityplace Center in the Cityplace district in the first quarter of 2010.

In August 2006, Dean Foods acquired Jilbert's Dairy, a 70 year old family business near Marquette, Michigan. In December 2007, Dean Foods bought the Wells Dairy milk plant in Le Mars, Iowa. Dean Foods purchased Alpro in 2009 for an estimated US$455 million, making it a "global leader in soy beverages". This resulted in a restructuring of the company, with it selling off a number of subsidiaries, including Rachel's Organic.