Flowers Foods Acquires Tortilla Maker Leos Food

THOMASVILLE, Ga. /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE:FLO) today announced it has acquired Leos Foods, Inc., in Ft. Worth, Texas. Terms were not disclosed.

With annual sales of approximately $30 million, Leos Foods is a family-owned business with one tortilla facility in Ft. Worth and 230 employees. The company makes an extensive line of flour and corn tortillas and tortilla chips that are sold to foodservice and institutional customers nationwide under Leos, Juarez, and customer brands. It was founded in 1978 by Leo Jimenez and Sule Jimenez, recognized leaders in the tortilla industry, who serve as president and finance executive, respectively.

Leos Foods will operate as a subsidiary of Flowers Bakeries under its current name and will continue to serve existing customers with quality tortilla products. Owners Leo and Sule Jimenez have announced plans to retire following the sale. Jaime Garcia will remain Leos general manager.

George E. Deese, Flowers Foods chairman of the board, chief executive officer, and president, said, Leos Foods brings to Flowers a solid company with decades of experience in making high-quality tortilla products. Leos will allow us to expand our presence in the tortilla market, which we have been serving since 1994 with our Mi Casa brand, and it aligns well with our foodservice business. Were pleased to have this fine organization join Flowers Foods.

Headquartered in Thomasville, Ga., Flowers Foods, with annual sales of over $2.4 billion, is one of the nations leading producers and marketers of packaged bakery foods for retail and foodservice customers. Flowers operates 39 bakeries that produce a wide range of bakery products sold through an extensive direct-store-delivery network that encompasses the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Southwest as well as select markets in California and Nevada, and nationwide through other delivery systems. Among the companys top brands are Natures Own, Whitewheat, Cobblestone Mill, Blue Bird, and Mrs. Freshley’s. For more information, visit 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, (f) our ability to fully integrate recent acquisitions into our business, and (g) 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 companys filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Source: Flowers Foods, Inc.