Houlihan Lokey Advises ARYZTA

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that ARYZTA AG has sold its Brazilian business (Aryzta do Brasil) to Grupo Bimbo SAB de CV (Grupo Bimbo). The transaction closed on 14 October 2021.

Aryzta do Brasil is a leader in the Brazilian bakery market, specialising in hamburger buns, breadsticks, and baguettes, with a growing business in the sweet and savoury bakery segment. Aryzta do Brasil operates five bakeries, and has one state-of-the-art plant under construction with sufficient capacity to support its growing business.

ARYZTA AG is a global food business with a leadership position in convenience bakery. ARYZTA is based in Schlieren, Switzerland, with operations in Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. ARYZTA is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SWX:ARYN).

Grupo Bimbo, listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV:BIMBOA), is the largest baking company in the world. Grupo Bimbo is headquartered in Mexico City and operates in 33 countries, with a diversified portfolio of more than 13,000 products and more than 100 renowned brands. It is a global leader in baking and one of the largest packaged food players with over 134,000 employees at 203 plants worldwide. 

The successful sale of the Brazil business is a further positive step in the delivery of Aryzta’s strategy to rebuild its leadership in bakery in Europe and Asia. ARYZTA’s disposal program since September has exceeded expectations in all regards and accelerates the group’s journey to financial stability. Its focus will now center on delivery of sustainable organic growth and achieving industry profitability and efficiency levels through its multi-local business strategy.

This deal represents another successful transaction for Houlihan Lokey in the value-added bakery sector following the sales of Dessert Holdings to Bain Capital Private Equity; the North American business of ARYZTA AG to Lindsay Goldberg; Give & Go to Mondelēz; C.H. Guenther to PPC Partners; Dolciaria Acquaviva to Ergon Capital; and Diversi Foods to Martin Braun-Gruppe/Oetker.

Houlihan Lokey acted as the financial advisor to ARYZTA AG. Pinheiro Neto Advogados and KPMG served respectively as the legal and financial due diligence advisors to ARYZTA.