In a $5.6 billion deal, J.M. Smucker will acquire Hostess Brands, creator of Twinkies

Without debt, the transaction was valued around $4.6 billion, and Smucker, the manufacturer of Jif peanut butter, paid Hostess shareholders $34.25 per share. Since the day Reuters revealed that the company was considering a sale, the cash-and-stock offer reflects an increase in value of 54% on the stock.

With their gains from the epidemic era waning, big American packaged food businesses are looking to diversify their brand portfolios, hence Smucker’s wager on Hostess.

As most businesses aim to increase volumes by rebranding portfolios after gains from price hikes started to weaken, the number of mergers in the U.S. packaged food industry has increased recently.

Hostess Brands became a target for takeover after its price increases increased revenue but raised investor doubts about its future given that its volume growth had been steadily dropping.

The partnership between Smucker and Hostess comes after a flurry of other industry transactions, such as Campbell Soup’s ($2.7 billion) acquisition of Sovos Brands and Unilever’s (ULVR.L) acquisition of the upscale frozen yogurt brand Yasso in North America.

The partnership with Smucker represents a significant reversal for Hostess, which twice declared bankruptcy, in 2004 and 2012, as a result of private equity owners burdening the company with debt and a failure to develop fresh, consumer-friendly foods.

With a market value of over $14 billion, Smucker, which also owns coffee and pet food brands, increased the price of its jams and jellies, helping to increase its profit prediction for the year.