Milling & Baking News - October 29, 2013 - 9

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Maple Leaf looks to sell 90%
Canada Bread ownership stake
Continued from Page 1

shareholders and our Bakery business."
Central in the "Bakery strategy" cited
by Mr. McCain was a major reworking
of the company's baking capacity. Beginning in 2010, the company announced
plans to build a 375,000-square-foot baking plant in Hamilton, Ont. The plant
opened in September 2011, and other,
smaller, plants were closed. In the wake
of the plant opening, Canada Bread
initiated a strategic review of the bakery business in 2012, looking for ways
to position itself in the face of changing market conditions. Approaches to
marketing, product mix and innovation
were cited by the company as areas of
exploration.
"We are confident this (strategic

review) will result in further actions
in 2013 and beyond to realize stronger
sustained profitable growth," Mr. McCain said jointly in 2012 with
Richard A. Lan, president
and chief executive officer of
Canada Bread.
Commenting on the possible sale of Canada Bread,
David L. Emerson, chairman
of the Maple Leaf board, said
the board and management "are united" in their support in the process.
In connection with the announcement, Canada Bread said it has established a special committee comprised
solely of independent directors.
In 2012, the Maple Leaf Meat Products business generated operating

earnings of C$121.3 million on sales
of C$3,039.5 million. The Bakery business had operating earnings of C$97.6
million on sales of C$1,567 million.
Maple Leaf's 90% ownership of
Canada Bread represents a significant
increase from levels in the 1990s. The
company has had a policy of
buying shares on the market
"from time to time" when
market conditions are attractive. In 1997, Maple Leaf
owned slightly less than
70% of Canada Bread.
At that time, Canada
Bread was adopted by the company
as its corporate name from Corporate
Foods Ltd. - the company name beginning in 1969. The Canada Bread
name dates back to 1911, when the
company was established as an amalgamation of five smaller baking businesses. MBN

Private equity group acquires PBF Pita,
Canadian baking company of Arbor. "PBF has thrived
CHICAGO - Arbor Investments, a pri- vice-president
vate equity firm based in Chicago, has
announced a recapitalization of PBF Pita
Bread Factory Ltd., a maker of fresh and
frozen premium baked foods based in
Burnaby, B.C. Terms of the transaction
were not disclosed.
Founded in 1984, PBF has grown to
become a recognized national supplier of
baked goods to bakery-deli, food service
and private label customers in Canada
and the United States. The company's
product offering includes a variety of
gourmet bakery items, including its signature pita bread, tortillas, bagels, naan,
cookies and pies that are marketed under
the company's PBF Signature, Bakestone
Brothers and 24th Ave. brands or private
label. The company recently relocated to
an updated facility in Burnaby.
"PBF exemplifies the type of highquality food manufacturer that Arbor
seeks for its portfolio," said Alan Weed,

under the ownership of the Hayek family, and we are thrilled to be acquiring
the business as it enters its next stage of
growth."
Fady, Sid and Ron Hayek will remain
active in daily operations of the company,
and the family will retain a significant
ownership stake going forward.
"Arbor is a great fit for us, and we
look forward to a prosperous future for
the company," said Fady Hayek, president of PBF. "Their extensive industry
knowledge and experience in the baking
segment in particular made them a very
attractive partner for our family business.
They will be a valuable resource on many
levels and will allow us to maintain our
historically strong trajectory of growth
and profitability."
Joseph Campolo, president of Arbor, said
PBF "had all the qualities" it was looking
for in its first investment in Canada.

Pepperidge Farm opens expanded
baking facility in Utah
RICHMOND, UTAH - Pepperidge
Farm, Inc. on Oct. 7 celebrated the completion of a $45 million expansion to
the company's manufacturing facility in
Richmond. The expansion included the
start-up of production on a new Goldfish
cracker line.
"Sales of Goldfish crackers continue
to grow consistently, and expanding our
production capacity is critical for us to
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

Business

stay ahead of this demand," said Irene
Chang Britt, president of Pepperidge
Farm. "We appreciate the support we've
received from the state of Utah, in particular the Governor's Office of Economic
Development and the Economic Development Council of Utah, the Cache County
Development Office and Chamber of
Commerce, and the city of Richmond."
In addition to the new Goldfish

"We look forward to building on the
company's excellent reputation as we
add new customers and product capabilities," Mr. Campolo said. "We will also
be looking to grow the business through
complementary acquisitions both in Canada and the United States."
Founded in 1999 and headquartered
in Chicago, Arbor Investments is a specialized private equity firm that focuses
exclusively on acquiring premier companies in the food and beverage industry. The firm has acquired or invested
in more than 32 food and beverage
companies in North America, including Gold Standard Baking, Inc., Oven
Fresh Baking Company, Inc. and Mister
Cookie Face.
Earlier this year, Arbor Investments
completed the acquisitions of The New
French Bakery, Inc., a specialty baker located in Minneapolis, and Keyes Packaging Group, Inc., a Wenatchee, Wash.based provider of protective molded fiber
and tissue wrap packaging for the food
and beverage industry. MBN
cracker line, Pepperidge added new
technology and production capabilities
to the site in Richmond, the company's only manufacturing facility west
of the Rocky Mountains. Additionally, 94,000 square feet and improved
facilities were added to the already
225,000-square-foot site.
Pepperidge Farm currently produces
around 60 million lbs of cookies, crackers and frozen products each year, including Milano cookies, at the Richmond plant. MBN
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Milling & Baking News - October 29, 2013

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