Grupo Bimbo has acquired US foodservice company East Balt Bakeries for $650 million in a bid to expand its global reach.
Founded in 1955 and headquartered in Chicago, East Balt was bought by One Equity Partners in 2012. It employs around 2,200 people and operates 21 bakeries in the US, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
East Balt produces and supplies buns, English muffins, rolls, tortillas, bagels, artisanal breads and other baked goods mainly to quick service restaurants.
Grupo Bimbo claimed that the deal represents its strategy to focus on high-growth markets. The Mexican bakers last month unveiled its first product range in the UK.
Bimbo CEO Daniel Servitje said: “East Balt brings significant expertise, a remarkable track record of profitable growth, and a geographically diverse and highly scalable platform in the foodservice segment, complementing our current business within this channel.
“This acquisition continues to fulfil our vision of expanding our global reach to better serve more consumers, with entry to eight new countries.
“Notably, East Balt enjoys long-standing strategic relationships, with the largest and most established quick service restaurant brands brands in the world.”
East Balt generated annual sales of approximately $420 million and the transaction is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Guillermo Quiroz, chief financial officer of Grupo Bimbo, added: “With an efficient and low-cost service model, a profitable capital deployment strategy, and sustained margins, this accretive acquisition in terms of margins, earnings per share and profitability, supports our value creation objectives.”
Source: Foodbev.com
Consumer healthcare firm Haleon has appointed Tate & Lyle executive Dawn Allen as its new chief financial officer, effective 1 November 2024. Allen will succeed Tobias Hestler, who has decided to step down from the role, citing a long-term health condition, the company said.
The group said that the bottling line, which adds 6,500 square metres to the existing 60,700-square-metre site, is the next necessary stage in the company’s international development. The leading brand in Campari Group’s global sales, demand for the Italian bitter apéritif has grown by 500% in the last decade.
The partnership will see Coca-Cola adopt new technology to foster innovation and productivity globally. Through the deal, Coca-Cola has made a $1.1 billion commitment to the Microsoft Cloud and its generative AI capabilities.