Baking & Snack - August 2017 - 14

Grupo Bimbo to acquire East Balt Bakeries
Grupo Bimbo SAB de CV, Mexico City, has reached an agreement
to acquire Chicago-based East Balt Bakeries from One Equity
Partners for $650 million. The acquisition is expected to give
Grupo Bimbo additional reach in the global food service segment.
"East Balt brings significant expertise, a remarkable track record of profitable growth and a geographically diverse and highly
scalable platform in the food service segment, complementing our
current business within this channel," said Daniel Servitje, chairman and CEO of Grupo Bimbo. "This acquisition continues to fulfill 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 QSR brands in the world. We look forward to
welcoming all of East Balt's associates to the Grupo Bimbo family
and to our continued growth together."
Offering additional color about the East Balt acquisition,
Bimbo said 32% of East Balt's sales are in the US, 25% in Asia and
43% in the rest of the world. The company operates three plants
in the US, five in Western Europe, two in Russia/Ukraine, four in
the Middle East and Africa and seven in Asia. Leading East Balt
customers include McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, KFC,

East Balt Bakeries

Pizza Hut, YumChina, Subway and Nando's.
East Balt's annual sales of $420 million have been growing at
a 3.6% compound rate over the past five years. When the transaction is completed, Grupo Bimbo will be operating 196 baking
plants in 32 countries together with 56,000 routes, 1,700 sales
centers and 2.9 million points of sale. The company will have
136,000 associates.
- Eric Schroeder and Josh Sosland, Milling & Baking News

Snyder's-Lance to expand Baptista's Bakery
Snyder's-Lance, Inc., Charlotte, NC, unveiled plans to
expand its Baptista's Bakery facility in Franklin,
WI. The $7.8 million project will include
building renovations as well as machinery
and equipment upgrades and will create 125
additional jobs, according to the Wisconsin
Economic Development Corp. (WEDC).
WEDC is supporting the project by authorizing up to $300,000 in state income tax credits over
the next three years.

"The company has experienced tremendous growth
over the past five years and has already doubled
employment at its Franklin facility," said Mark
Hogan, secretary and CEO of WEDC, the
state's lead economic development corporation. "Baptista's has already invested more
than $100 million in its facility, and we are
pleased to assist the company in the next phase
of its growth."
- Eric Schroeder, Milling & Baking News

Schwan's acquires two pizza companies
Schwan's Co., Bloomington, MN, has acquired Better Baked Foods
and Drayton Foods from NE Foods Inc., a move that will help the
company "increase its capabilities in the US pizza market," the
company said. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Better Baked Foods, based in North East, PA, manufactures
pizza, French bread pizza and sandwich items for private label
customers and foodservice venues. In retail stores, the company
sells products under the brands Better Baked Classics, Daybreak
Classics, Papa Presto, Zap-A-Snack and Odyssey. The business,
which includes Better Baked Foods of Erie, LLC, operates production facilities in North East, PA; Erie, PA; and Westfield, NY.
Drayton Foods, Fargo, ND, makes pizza and bread products, offering its Two Sicily's brand in retail stores.
- Rebekah Schouten, Food Business News

14 Baking & Snack August 2017 / www.bakingandsnack.com

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