Flowers Foods completes Sara Lee, Earthgrains licensing deals

Advertisement Flowers Foods is growing its bakery business with the acquisition of certain assets and trademark licenses from BBU Inc., a subsidiary of Grupo Bimbo SA. The financial terms of the transactions were not disclosed. Under the agreement, Flowers will receive exclusive licenses to the Sara Lee and Earthgrains brands for sliced breads, buns and rolls in California, which account for annual sales of $134 million. The manufacturer also will receive a license to the Earthgrains brand for a range of bakery products in the Oklahoma City, Okla., market area. The Oklahoma City license will be completed shortly, while the first phase of the California transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of fiscal 2013. Further details of the acquisition will be discussed during Flowers' quarterly conference call, which is scheduled for Nov. 8. "The acquisition strengthens our market presence in California, adding about 14.5 million people to the 70 percent of the U.S. population that currently has access to our fresh breads and rolls," George E. Deese, Flowers' chairman and CEO, said in a statement. "This moves us closer to our goal of reaching 75 percent of the U.S. population through our direct-store-delivery system by 2016." Since listing publicly in 1968, Flowers foods has completed more than 100 acquisitions, including 13 in the past decade.