Grupo Bimbo acquires Sara Lee’s North American Fresh Bakery line

November 9, 2010, Horsham, PA – Grupo Bimbo has acquired Sara Lee Corporation’s North American Fresh Bakery business.

Grupo Bimbo’s wholly owned subsidiary, Bimbo Bakeries USA (BBU), will add the Sara Lee brand to its existing product lines, pending regulatory approval.

"When added to BBU's facilities, Sara Lee's bakeries provide us with a strong national network, as Sara Lee has a significant presence in the Midwest and Southeast while BBU's base is in the Northeast and Texas," said Gary Prince, president of Bimbo Bakeries USA. "We expect to grow the Sara Lee route system by expanding Soft & Smooth's geographic reach. At the same time, we expect to grow the BBU route system with a renewed focus on variety and innovation."

BBU also announced that it will invest more than $1 billion in the United States over the next five years to create an efficient manufacturing and service platform. When completed, BBU will operate 75 bakeries in 31 states, and serve the entire U.S. market through a network of over 13,000 sales routes.

"We will build new bakeries where we need them. We will renew existing facilities. And, we will improve our technology and infrastructure," said Prince. "We are investing in manufacturing facilities and manufacturing jobs across the United States."

Grupo Bimbo is one of the world's largest baking companies with operations in 17 countries throughout the Americas and China.