Family-owned La Lorraine Bakery Group (LLBG) in Belgium has acquired a 50% stake in Bakery de France, a bread and pastries business in the US.
LLBG said it will team up with Bakery de France in a joint venture to supply the North American market, where the latter generates around $80m in annual revenue selling into the retail and foodservice channels.
The venture will be headed up by Alexander Salameh as CEO. He is the chief operations officer of family-run Bakery de France, which was set up 40 years ago and is based in Washington DC.
Ninove-based LLBG, which posted revenue in 2023 of €1.4bn ($1.5bn), did not reveal the price it has paid for the interest in Bakery de France.
Guido Vanherpe, LLBG’s CEO, said in a statement: “We are very happy and proud that we can start a new growth story on a new continent together with the Salameh family.
“After more than 80 years of growth in more than 35 countries on the European continent, Turkey and the Middle East, we have now a great opportunity to scale our expertise and further expand our international footprint to the North American market.”
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By GlobalDataLLGB sells into more than 30 countries from 17 production sites located in Belgium, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Hungary, Italy, Greece and the UAE. The company employs around 5,000 staff.
The business operates in four areas: fresh baked bread and pastries; frozen bake-off products for retail and the out-of-home sectors; the milling and supply of flours to B2B customers; and franchised bakery stores.
Bakery brands include La Lorraine, Panesco and Donut Worry Be Happy, and then the Panos sandwiches and drinks shops.
Salameh said: “We are proud to continue scaling by joining forces with LLBG, a strong partner who shares our core values of focusing on quality and customer service in a family-owned environment.
“This partnership further reinforces our commitment to our customers and our team members as we continue our exciting journey together.”
LLBG grew its revenue last year by 17%. EBIT climbed 45% to €92.9m while the associated profit margin rose to 6.8% from 5.5%. Net profit after tax was up 48% at €50.6m.
