Grupo Bimbo: Completed Sale of Confectionery Business

Mexico City / MX. (gb) Mexico’s Grupo Bimbo S.A.B. de C.V. has completed the sale of its confectionery business «Ricolino» to Mondelez International Inc. for an enterprise value of MXN 27 billion (USD 1.37 billion) – the company informed in November. Ricolino is a growing business with a leading confectionery position in Mexico. The acquisition will transform Mondelēz International’s business in the high-priority Mexico market to accelerate growth and scale in core snacking categories. The companies first informed about the intended and now closed transaction in April 2022.

Grupo Bimbo will use the proceeds from this transaction to pay down debt, for capital investments and will propose an extraordinary dividend to its General Shareholders’ Meeting, which is the equivalent to nearly MXN 2.9 billion pesos, or USD 146 million.

The approvals from the antitrust regulators from Nicaragua and Honduras are still pending; thus, this transaction contemplates a carve-out of 0.8 percent of the business, so Grupo Bimbo will receive 99.2 percent of the proceeds. As soon as these approvals are obtained, the Company will receive the remainder of the proceeds and will provide the rights for Ricolino in these countries.

«This reflects a strategic decision for Grupo Bimbo to be entirely focused on grain- based foods, specifically the baking and snacking categories where we see strong growth potential. We are very proud of all the Ricolino associates who have shown their full commitment, professionalism, and passion throughout all these years with Grupo Bimbo. We wish them the best in this new chapter together with Mondelēz», said Daniel Servitje, Chairman and CEO of Grupo Bimbo.

Diego Gaxiola, CFO of Grupo Bimbo, commented: «This transaction strengthens our financial profile, as it is highly accretive for us, while it enhances our long-term focus in our core categories. It will enable us to return value to our shareholders through the payment of an extraordinary dividend. We reaffirm our commitment to Mexico, where so far, we have invested over 40 percent of our global CAPEX, a record level that reinforces our confidence in the country.»