Grupo Bimbo: to acquire China’s Mankattan Group

Mexico City / MX. (gb) Grupo Bimbo S.A.B. de C.V. announced an agreement to acquire Mankattan Group, a key player in the baking industry in China. Mankattan produces and supplies sliced bread, cakes, buns and Yudane (a Japanese-style sandwich bread), among other baked products to modern, traditional and QSR clients in China. Mankattan employs 1’900 associates and operates four plants that serve the thriving urban markets of Beijing, Shanghai, Sichuan, and Guangdong, along with their surrounding areas.

«This acquisition marks our commitment to grow in the world’s most populated country and the second largest global economy. Mankattan brings a sizeable amount of synergies to our operations in the North of China, as we will be able to optimize our supply chain to better serve more consumers. In addition, the product portfolio and manufacturing capabilities enhance and complement our current operation exceptionally well, in terms of both our branded products and our QSR business. This acquisition will expand our geographical footprint from one market to four and enable us to significantly transform our profile in China», said Daniel Servitje, Chairman and CEO of Grupo Bimbo.

«We started our bakery investments in China more than 20 years ago and we are very pleased that, along with our leadership together with the experienced local management team, we successfully built Mankattan into the number two national wholesale bakery company in China», said Ray Debbane CEO of Artal Group S.A. and of its investment advisor Invus. Additionally, Debbane commented: «We are very pleased that Grupo Bimbo will continue with Mankattan’s growth trajectory to continue to serve the Chinese market with high-quality baked goods».

This transaction is still subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

About Grupo Bimbo

Grupo Bimbo is the largest baking Company in the world and a relevant participant in snacks. Grupo Bimbo has 195 plants and more than 1’800 sales centers strategically located in 32 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa. Its main product lines include fresh and frozen sliced bread, buns, cookies, snack cakes, English muffins, bagels, pre-packaged foods, tortillas, salted snacks and confectionery products, among others. Grupo Bimbo produces over 13’000 products and has one of the largest direct distribution networks in the world, with more than 3.0 million points of sale, around 58’000 routes and more than 138’000 associates. Its shares trade on the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV) under the ticker symbol BIMBO, and in the over-the-counter market in the United States with a Level 1 ADR, under the ticker symbol BMBOY.

About ARTAL/INVUS

Founded in 1985, Invus is a New York-based global investment firm with additional offices in Paris and Hong Kong and is the exclusive investment advisor of Benelux-based Artal Group S.A. Invus is an equity investor which partners with entrepreneurs and management to help them transform their industries and achieve extraordinary business performance over time. Invus has invested in a wide range of industries including consumer products and services, specialty retail, software, biotech and medical devices. Its evergreen portfolio has achieved exceptional returns growing its modest pool of initial capital to over USD 5 Billion, even after significant distributions to investors and without raising outside funds. Invus’ primary focus remains private equity investments in the US, Europe and Asia, but, in addition, manages its liquid assets through its own long-only public stock portfolio as well as a fund of funds strategy with outside managers.

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