Sara Lee to Sell Fresh Bakery Business in Spain and Portugal to Grupo Bimbo
Sara Lee has agreed to sell its fresh bakery businesses in Spain and Portugal to Mexico’s Grupo Bimbo for €115 million ($154 million) in cash. The deal includes all Sara Lee fresh bakery brands in Spain and Portugal as well as seven manufacturing facilities. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory clearance, is expected to close within 60 days.
Sara Lee holds the number-one position among branded bakery manufacturers in Spain, with leading brands such as Bimbo, Martinez, Ortiz and Silueta. In the 2011 financial year, the business generated net sales of $408 million. It employs approximately 2,000 people.
“Divesting the bakery businesses allows Sara Lee’s international portfolio to become simpler and more focused on coffee and tea, the categories around which we are building a leading pure-play international company,” says Jan Bennink, executive chairman of Sara Lee. Sara Lee’s remaining international bakery businesses headquartered in France and Australia remain the subject of a divestiture process and a strategic review, respectively. These two businesses generated aggregate revenue of approximately $318 million in fiscal year 2011, and sell products primarily in France, Sweden, Italy, Australia and New Zealand.
The acquisition positions Grupo Bimbo as the leading branded bread company on the Iberian Peninsula and provides the company with entry to the European market through an established bakery business. Grupo Bimbo is in the process of acquiring Sara Lee’s fresh bakery business in theUnited States. The deal was originally announced in November 2010 and is expected to close in the coming weeks.
