Milling & Baking News - August 30, 2005 - 13

B U S I N E S S

Sara Lee to close three bakeries,
transfer production elsewhere
CHICAGO - Sara Lee Food & Beverage, the retail food division of Sara Lee
Corp., said it will close three of its fresh
bakery plants and move production
to other regional plants the company
operates. The closings, to take place
in Birmingham, Ala.; Milwaukee; and
Redding, Calif., will eliminate 170 jobs.
Sara Lee said it will halt production
at the Milwaukee bakery on Sept. 16,
eliminating 105 jobs. The company will
transfer its bread and bun production
to other bakeries in the Upper Midwest, including Dubuque, Iowa, and
Rock Island, Ill. Approximately 15 jobs

will be added in Dubuque to create a
new bread shift, Sara Lee said.
The Milwaukee bakery was operated
by Metz Baking Co. until 2000, when
Metz was sold to The Earthgrains Co.
Sara Lee acquired Earthgrains in 2001.
The Milwaukee plant primarily manufactures Sara Lee and Earth Grains widepan bread for distribution in the Upper
Midwest. D'Italiano bread and buns and
Sara Lee, Holsum and Gardner's hot dog
and hamburger buns also are produced
at the facility.
Production of sourdough bread and
rolls at the company's Redding bakery

Monomoy Capital buys Awrey Bakeries
NEW YORK - Monomoy Capital Partners, L.L.C. has completed its acquisition
of Awrey Bakeries, Inc. for approximately
$25 million in partnership with Hilco Equity Management, L.L.C. The purchase is
the first by Monomoy since the firm was
founded in March to make controlling investments in distressed, underperforming or orphan businesses in the smaller
company market.
Awrey Bakeries, Inc., headquartered
in Livonia, Mich., and founded in 1910,
is a national food service bakery serving
markets ranging from national food service distributors to the U.S. military. The
company produces and sells frozen baked
goods to major distributors and retail
outlets in the United States, Canada and
other locations, and has approximately

330 employees. Awrey filed for bankruptcy protection on Feb. 2.
"Our acquisition of Awrey provides a
significant opportunity to strengthen the
business through continued cost reduction, enhanced manufacturing flow and a
significantly improved financial structure,"
said Dan Collin, a Monomoy principal.
"We look forward to working closely with
the Awrey management team to enhance
Awrey's leading position in the baked
goods industry and to create value for our
investors and the entire company."
Stephen Presser, principal at Monomoy,
commented, "Awrey Bakeries is just the
kind of investment we look for at Monomoy
- a strong, nationally recognized franchise
in an improving market with operational
and financial problems that we can fix. We

Brinker to sell Corner Bakery chain
DALLAS - Brinker International Inc. on Aug. 17 filed a regulatory document with the
Securities and Exchange Commission saying it has signed a letter of intent to sell its
90-store Corner Bakery restaurant chain by the end of the year.
In its one-paragraph filing, Brinker did not disclose who the
potential buyer might be or the expected price.
Louis Adams, a spokesman for Brinker, said the move is part of
the Dallas-based company's continual evaluation of its portfolio
as it tries to get the right mix of brands.
Corner Bakery, a 90-unit chain that specializes in sandwiches,
salads and baked goods, is Brinker's only fast-casual brand.
Brinker acquired the concept in August 1995 from Chicago-based
Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Inc.
If the sale is completed, Brinker would be left with four large
brands: Chili's Bar & Grill, Romano's Macaroni Grill, Maggiano's Little Italy and On
the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina. It also has an interest in Rockfish Seafood Grill.
During the recently completed fourth quarter, Brinker and its franchise partners opened four new Corner Bakery units. The openings marked Brinker's first
expansion of the Corner Bakery since it acknowledged last year that it needed to
fine-tune the concept.
Brinker said it plans to open 7 to 10 new Corner Bakery units in fiscal 2006. MBN

14 / Milling & Baking News, August 30, 2005

will be transferred in early January 2006,
eliminating 32 jobs. Sara Lee said about
10 jobs will be added to the company's
larger and more centrally located San
Luis Obispo sourdough bakery to assume the increased production volume.
Sara Lee said it will cease production at
its Birmingham dinner roll bakery sometime in the first three months of 2006. Production will shift to the company's bread
and bun bakery in Meridian, Miss.
"We regret the loss of jobs for these employees," said Joe Waters, vice-president
of manufacturing for Sara Lee Food &
Beverage's U.S. Fresh Bakery unit. "With
the number of plants we have in these
regions, we no longer need the production capacity we have at the Birmingham,
Milwaukee and Redding bakeries." MBN

have assembled an exceptional team here at
Monomoy, and we look forward to many
years of strong results for both our investors and the companies we acquire."
Monomoy and Hilco will invest substantial capital into the company, recapitalize Awrey's balance sheet, improve the
company's cost structure and improve the
company's manufacturing process. Monomoy and Hilco worked closely with United
Distributive Workers, R.S.D.W.U., the union
for all Awrey employees, to complete the acquisition, and the union's continuing active
participation in the restructuring is critical
to the success of the company.
Alden Knowles, who has 15 years of management experience in the food processing
and marketing industry, will be the new chief
executive officer of Awrey. Mr. Knowles has
held senior management and turnaround
positions at the Bakery Division of Bunge
Foods and Hazelwood Bakeries. Mr. Knowles
and the new senior management team will execute a complete analysis and overhaul of the
company's products and operations, including an analysis of opportunities for expansion
into higher-margin product lines. MBN

Kraft raises quarterly
dividend 12.2%
NORTHFIELD, ILL. - The board of directors of Kraft Foods Inc. last week raised the
company's quarterly dividend by 12.2% to
23c per share from 20.5c.
The new quarterly dividend is payable
on Oct. 5 to shareholders of record as of
Sept. 7. Kraft now will pay an annual dividend of 92c per common share of Class A
and Class B stock.
"This dividend increase reflects confidence in our ability to grow cash flow
and our commitment to returning value
to shareholders," said Roger K. Deromedi,
chief executive officer of Kraft Foods. MBN
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Milling & Baking News - August 30, 2005

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