The Mexican Bimbo groupone of the largest bakeries in the world, reported this Monday that it will sell its confectionery business, Ricolinoto the enterprise Mondelez International for 1,329 million dollars.
“Grupo Bimbo announces that it has signed an agreement for the sale of its confectionery business, Ricolino, to Mondelez International, Inc. for an amount of the company value of 27,000 million pesos (1,329 million dollars)“, the company said in a statement.
The company stated that this strategic decision It will allow Grupo Bimbo, on the one hand, to become a stronger global leader in grain-based foods and to focus on its bakery and snack industries.”
For its part, for Mondelez, a world leader in ‘snacks‘, this operation “will allow it to double the size of its business in Mexico, expand its presence in the confectionery segment and will also provide an attractive entry point to the chocolate category in the country,” the text added.
With some 500 million dollars in net sales in 2021, Ricolino is a “leading player in the confectionery category in Mexico”, has around 6,000 collaborators and has four plants that distribute their products through their sales centers through various channels and brands.
Ricolino also exports and markets its products to 17 countriesincluding the United States and Central America,” he said.
Grupo Bimbo will use the resources from this transaction for the debt payment, capital investments and other corporate purposes in general, underlined the text.
Diego Gaxiola, Global Director of Administration and Finance of Grupo Bimbo, stated that “this transaction strengthens our financial profile, by generating value for Grupo Bimbo. (…) We reaffirm our commitment and investment in Mexico, where this year we will be investing approximately 750 million dollars, a historical figure that endorses our confidence in the country.”
In addition, Oriol Bonaclochapresident of Mondelez Mexico, explained that “2022 is a very relevant year for us since we celebrate 95 years in Mexico, and today we reaffirm our commitment to the country by announcing this agreement”.
This operation is still subject to the corresponding approvals, including the regulatory approvals that are applicable in Mexico, such as that of the Federal Commission of Economic Competition (Coffee), among others, concluded the text.