Flowers Foods Reaches Agreement to Acquire ButterKrust Bakery in Florida
26 June 2008 - 11:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
THOMASVILLE, Ga., June 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Flowers Foods
(NYSE: FLO) officials today announced that the company has executed
a definitive agreement to acquire ButterKrust Bakery in Lakeland,
Fla. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval under the
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act and other conditions. Pursuant to the stock
purchase agreement, Flowers has agreed to purchase all of the
issued and outstanding capital stock of the holding company of
ButterKrust for cash. (LOGO:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080530/CLF007LOGO )
ButterKrust Bakery, which operates profitably on annualized sales
of approximately $70 million, is a privately-owned business with
one bakery in Lakeland that employs 368 people. ButterKrust sells
its fresh breads and rolls throughout Florida. The company sells
its products under the Country Hearth, Rich Harvest, and Sunbeam
brands as well as store brands. George E. Deese, Flowers Foods'
chairman of the board, chief executive officer and president said
of the acquisition, "ButterKrust Bakery will bring additional
production capacity to help our company better serve the Florida
market. In the past 25 years, Florida's population has grown from
9.7 million to more than 18 million and it is predicted Florida
will have more than 23 million residents by 2020. Flowers Foods'
growth in Florida has been strong and we expect that to continue.
This acquisition should serve our production capacity needs in the
state for the foreseeable future." Deese noted that the
250,000-square-foot Lakeland bakery is highly efficient with the
latest in bakery technology. "ButterKrust has long been known as a
fine bakery that produces outstanding baked goods. We will be
pleased to welcome the ButterKrust team to Flowers once the
acquisition is completed," Deese said. The bakery will continue to
operate under the same talented team following the completion of
the acquisition. Doug Wimberly, president of ButterKrust, said, "I
have always admired and respected Flowers Foods and its team, so I
am very pleased with the prospect of partnering with Flowers. This
will be a really good partnership, helping both ButterKrust and
Flowers to better serve our customers in Florida and to continue
growing our business." ButterKrust Bakery was established in 1916
in Lakeland, Fla. It is a single bread and bun plant with annual
sales of about $70 million. ButterKrust serves all of the Florida
market through supermarket and institutional accounts. The
company's brands include Sunbeam, Rich Harvest, and Country Hearth
brands. More information about ButterKrust Bakery can be found at
http://www.bkbusa.com/ Headquartered in Thomasville, Ga., Flowers
Foods, with annual sales of over $2.02 billion, is one of the
nation's leading producers and marketers of packaged bakery foods
for retail and foodservice customers. Flowers operates 36 bakeries
that produce a wide range of bakery products marketed throughout
the Southeastern, Southwestern, and mid-Atlantic states via an
extensive direct-store-delivery network and nationwide through
other delivery systems. Among the company's top brands are Nature's
Own, Nature's Own Whitewheat, Cobblestone Mill, Sunbeam, Blue Bird,
and Mrs. Freshley's. For more information, visit
http://www.flowersfoods.com/ Statements contained in this press
release that are not historical facts are forward-looking
statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those
projected. Other factors that may cause actual results to differ
from the forward-looking statements contained in this release and
that may affect the company's prospects in general include, but are
not limited to, (a) competitive conditions in the baked foods
industry, including promotional and price competition, (b) changes
in consumer demand for our products, (c) the success of
productivity improvements and new product introductions, (d) a
significant reduction in business with any of our major customers
including a reduction from adverse developments in any of our
customer's business, (e) fluctuations in commodity pricing and (f)
our ability to achieve cash flow from capital expenditures and
acquisitions and the availability of new acquisitions that build
shareholder value. In addition, our results may also be affected by
general factors such as economic and business conditions (including
the baked foods markets), interest and inflation rates and such
other factors as are described in the company's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080530/CLF007LOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Flowers Foods CONTACT:
Investors, Marta J. Turner, Executive VP, Corporate Relations, of
Flowers Foods, +1-229-227-2348; or Media, Mary A. Krier, Vice
President, Communications, of Flowers Foods, +1-229-227-2333; or
Doug Wimberly, President of ButterKrust Bakery, +1-863-682-1155 Web
site: http://www.flowersfoods.com/ http://www.bkbusa.com/
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