USA: Flowers Foods to acquire organic bread manufacturer

Flowers Foods, one of the largest producers of fresh packaged bakery foods in the United States, has announced that is has agreed to acquire Dave’s Killer Bread from its existing shareholders, including members of the Dahl family and Goode Partners, for approximately $275 million in cash.

"We are very excited about the pending acquisition of Dave's Killer Bread", said Allen L Shiver, Flowers Foods president and chief executive officer. "This is a well-positioned, fast growing company with excellent brand equity and an on-trend organic portfolio that appeals to today's consumers. The Dahl family and Goode Partners have built a great brand with a commitment to quality and community, two attributes that Flowers values tremendously. We are especially pleased to welcome the Dave's Killer Bread team members who will bring expertise and experience to our company”.

He also noted that in addition to a new category, new brand, new products, and new customers, the acquisition would expand Flowers' geographic reach into the Pacific Northwest and Canada.

"The Dave's Killer Bread team bakes bread that is truly unique. We see strong growth potential across our direct-store-delivery and warehouse businesses as we leverage our strengths to offer Dave's Killer Bread products to Flowers' existing customers nationwide", Mr Shiver added.

Flowers Foods plans to fund the acquisition using its existing revolving credit facility and available cash. The company said it anticipated the transaction would be neutral to fiscal 2015 earnings.

Source: Flowers Foods