In the high-stake bid for one of the nation’s upstart brands, Diamond Foods agreed to purchase Kettle Foods for a whopping $615 million in cash.

In the high-stake bid for one of the nation’s upstart brands, Diamond Foods agreed to purchase Kettle Foods for a whopping $615 million in cash.

Diamond will acquire Kettle’s operation in both the United States and the United Kingdom from Lion Capital LLP. The transaction is structured as a purchase of all the outstanding shares of a parent holding company of the U.S. and U.K. Kettle operating entities. It is expected to close by the end of Diamond’s fiscal year 2010, subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approval.

Kettle Foods, a producer of premium potato chips and other snacks, has annual sales of more than $250 million. Founded in Salem, Ore., in 1978 before expanding to the U.K. in 1989, Kettle Foods’ products are distributed throughout North America, Japan, Guam and Western Europe. Its manufacturing sites in Salem, Ore.; Beloit, Wis.; and Norwich, United Kingdom produce more than 20 flavors and four varieties of potato chip offerings, nut butters and trail mixes. Its facility in Beloit, Wis., opened in 2007 and was the first LEED Gold-certified food processing facility in the U.S.

The addition of Kettle Foods will more than double the size of Stockton, Calif.-based Diamond Foods’ snack business, enabling cross-promotional opportunities in the United States across a diversified offering of three complementary brands, which now include the Emerald, Pop Secret and Kettle snack lines.

Lion Capital is based in London.