MEXICO CITY — Grupo Bimbo S.A.B. de C.V. has acquired Italian Home Bakery Ltd., a family-owned Canadian bakery of fresh artisan bread and rolls as well as frozen baked products.
The acquisition, which was completed last week, was announced July 22 by Daniel Servitje, chairman and chief executive officer. Mr. Servitje mentioned the acquisition at the conclusion of prepared remarks delivered during a conference call with investment analysts in connection with the company’s second-quarter financial results. Mr. Servitje said I.H.B. has annual sales of about C$11 million ($8.4 million) in the Toronto area.
“The company has one production plant and, while small, it reinforces our presence and production capacity in this part of Canada and the U.S., complementing our frozen business,” Mr. Servitje said during the call.
I.H.B. operates a 70,000-square-foot, HACCP approved, ISO 22000 and kosher certified baking plant in Etobicoke, northwest of Toronto. Among roughly 60 products baked by I.H.B. are spacatto, or “split,” Italian bread and rolls. Additionally, it offers an array of bread varieties, including a Calabrese line; ciabatta and Hearth & Health Selections. The latter products are made in conjunction with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
In addition to fresh baked food selections, I.H.B. has expanded its frozen baked foods business in recent years and ships product to retailers and food service chains throughout Canada.
A 2014 profile of the company in Baking & Snack said I.H.B. operates 26 direct-store delivery routes in Ontario and employs 150.
Since 1999, the business, which was established in 1955, has been owned by brothers Dennis and John Rossetti, sons of immigrant Italian parents. In 2001, they moved the business from Toronto to its current facility and began investing in new equipment to create the current high-volume, artisan bakery.
For Bimbo, the acquisition is the company’s third (and smallest) in Canada in the past 14 months.
In May 2014, Bimbo completed its acquisition of Canada Bread Co. Ltd. in a transaction valued at $1,663 million. In early 2015, Bimbo acquired Saputo Bakery Inc., a subsidiary of Saputo Inc., in a transaction valued at slightly over $100 million. Bimbo in 2009 acquired the U.S. baking business of Weston Foods, the latter another company based in Canada.
