Group Le Duff America acquires Bruegger’s

April 19, 2011, Montreal – Group Le Duff America (GLDA), a division of Groupe Le Duff SA specializing in the management of “café-bakery” food shops and a producer of artisan bakery goods, has acquired the Vermont-based Bruegger’s restaurant chain.

Bruegger’s, which was acquired from Sun Capital, will generate $280 million in revenue for 2011. Its operations will be integrated with those of Bridor Canada, Bridor USA, Au Pain Doré, La Madeleine and Brioche Dorée.

In all, the 437 stores acquired by the GLDA (under the Bruegger’s, Timothy’s Coffees, Mmmuffins and Michel’s Baguette banners) combined with existing stores in the group bring the number of sites in America to over 550.

“Bruegger’s has carved out a healthy niche within the American “café-bakery” segment; a segment which fits perfectly into our multi-banner strategy,” says Claude Bergeron, president and CEO of GLDA and its subsidiaries. “Each one of our concepts occupies a specific place in the market, both demographically and geographically.”

With this acquisition, parent company Groupe Le Duff SA (France) becomes the second largest “café-bakery” operator in the world, with revenues of $1.5 billion, 1,105 shops and 13,400 jobs.