MEXICO CITY — Grupo Bimbo S.A.B. de C.V. on July 21 completed its acquisition of Panrico S.A.U. in Spain and Portugal. The acquisition includes 100% of the company’s shares, excluding the branded packaged bread category.
The $209 million transaction was first announced in July 2015, but only recently received approval from Spanish and Portuguese competition authorities.
Founded in 1962, from 1973 until 1999, Panrico was 50% owned by Allied Domecq Group. In recent years, Panrico has grown with a number of acquisitions, including the Artiach biscuit business in 2008 (acquired from Kraft Foods) and La Bella Easo in 2010, a maker of cupcakes, milk bread and croissants.
The transaction represents an expansion of Bimbo’s presence in Iberia. In 2011, the company acquired Sara Lee Corp.’s fresh bakery business in Spain and Portugal for €115 million. The transaction included bread, pastries and snacks produced under the Bimbo, Silueta, Ortíz, Martinez and Eagle brands, among others. Bimbo in Iberia at the time had more than 1,900 employees, seven production facilities and more than 800 distribution routes.
In 2013, the last year in which Grupo Bimbo released financial results for its Iberian business alone, the region had annual sales of 5,323 million pesos, equating to 3% of the company’s total. Since then the Iberian business is grouped with Bimbo operations in the United Kingdom to make up the European segment.
