Shares of snack maker Utz Brands jump 16% in NYSE debut

(Reuters) – Shares of Utz Brands Inc jumped 16% in their debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday after nearly 100 years as a family-owned company, riding on the rebound in investor appetite for new listings following the coronavirus outbreak.

The potato-chip maker on Friday completed its merger with Collier Creek Holdings, a so-called special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), a shell company that uses proceeds from an initial public offering (IPO) to buy a private company.

The stock opened at $18.95, up from Collier Creek’s last close of $16.34 on Friday. Collier Creek’s stock had already jumped on the back of the deal announcement in June.

Collier Creek had completed its IPO at $10 per share in 2018.

Utz reported an 11% jump in pro forma net sales to $242 million for the quarter ended June 28.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)