Canada Bread, perhaps the oldest name in bread-making in this country, has been sold by its parent, Maple Leaf Foods to Grupo Bimbo, the largest bread-making company in Mexico. The price was $1.83 billion. Canada Bread is baked in Toronto and 21 other factories in Canada and the U.S. and United Kingdom. The 103-year-old firm owns famous names such as Dempsters, Bon Matin and others. Maple Leaf Foods has had an interest in selling Canada Bread for some time so it can concentrate on its core meat packing business. Shares of Canada Bread have surged 22 percent since October when Maple Leaf said it was mulling the sale. The purchase builds on Grupo Bimbo’s large U.S. acquisitions in recent years and strengthens its position as the top bread maker in North America. Bimbo has expanded its footprint in recent years, acquiring Sara Lee Corp’s North American bakery business for $959 million in 2010 and buying Hostess Brands Inc’s Beefsteak bread brand last year. Many will be mislead by the Mexican company’s name. The English language slang word bimbo has no recognizable connection with the same word in Spanish usage. According to the company history, it was coined in 1945 by mixing the words bingo and Bambi and has a somewhat child-like connotation. Today, Bimbo is synonymous with bread-making in the Spanish speaking world. TwitterGrupo Bimbo buys Canada Bread for $1.83 billion
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Canada Bread, perhaps the oldest name in bread-making in this country, has been sold by its parent, Maple Leaf Foods to Grupo Bimbo, the largest bread-making company in Mexico. The price was $1.83 billion. Canada Bread is baked in Toronto and 21 other factories in Canada and the U.S. and United Kingdom. The 103-year-old firm owns famous names such as Dempsters, Bon Matin and others. Maple Leaf Foods has had an interest in selling Canada Bread for some time so it can concentrate on its core meat packing business. Shares of Canada Bread have surged 22 percent since October when Maple Leaf said it was mulling the sale. The purchase builds on Grupo Bimbo’s large U.S. acquisitions in recent years and strengthens its position as the top bread maker in North America. Bimbo has expanded its footprint in recent years, acquiring Sara Lee Corp’s North American bakery business for $959 million in 2010 and buying Hostess Brands Inc’s Beefsteak bread brand last year. Many will be mislead by the Mexican company’s name. The English language slang word bimbo has no recognizable connection with the same word in Spanish usage. According to the company history, it was coined in 1945 by mixing the words bingo and Bambi and has a somewhat child-like connotation. Today, Bimbo is synonymous with bread-making in the Spanish speaking world. Twitter