Hershey looks to diversify its snack offerings with purchase of SkinnyPop

According to CNBC's sources, Hershey is working on a deal to acquire Amplify Snack Brands, the maker of SkinnyPop popcorn snack products, for $1.6 billion, a price that would represent a 71 percent premium on Friday's closing price. The Austin, Texas-based snack company is currently carrying about $600 million of debt. The move is representative of CEO Michele Buck's efforts to broaden the chocolate maker's portfolio beyond sweets and comes on the tail of last week's news that Campbell Soup intends to buy snack maker Snyders-Lance.