Harris Williams Advises St Pierre Groupe on its Sale to Grupo Bimbo

Harris Williams, a global investment bank specializing in M&A advisory services, announces it advised St Pierre Groupe (St Pierre), an international market leader in the bakery sector, on its sale to Grupo Bimbo (BMV: BIMBO). St Pierre was previously owned by its founders and BGF. The transaction was led by Will Bain, Ryan Freeman, Andreas Poth and Will Baker of the Harris Williams Consumer Group.

“St Pierre is a rare breed; it combines exceptional brand strength and multi-category coverage with phenomenal growth rates across the U.S. and European markets. Its leading position in the premium French bakery sector made it a ‘must have’ brand for key international strategics. Grupo Bimbo will be a fantastic partner for St Pierre as it embarks on its next phase of growth,” said Will Bain, a managing director at Harris Williams.

“The premium, authentic French brand positioning of St Pierre enabled the company to achieve significant growth and scale in the U.S. and Europe and also resonates with consumers globally,” said Ryan Freeman, a managing director at Harris Williams. “Given the strength of the St Pierre brand and the attractiveness of the business, we targeted only a select group of global companies that were best positioned to further accelerate the growth and success of St Pierre around the world.”

“Grupo Bimbo emerged as the logical buyer for an asset-light business like St Pierre that will benefit from the global capabilities of Grupo Bimbo, the world's largest bakery,” said Andreas Poth, a director at Harris Williams.

Paul Baker, a co-founder of St Pierre, said, “We selected Harris Williams as our M&A advisor not only because of their extensive expertise in bakery and fast-growing international brands, but also due to their access to global strategic buyers. They delivered in spades – my fellow shareholders and I could not have been more impressed with what they did. We are very grateful to Will, Ryan, Andreas and the whole team for a job well done; they demonstrated a passion for our business that equaled ours. Most importantly for the business, they helped us find the ideal partner in Grupo Bimbo to deliver on St Pierre’s long-term growth plan.”

St Pierre is an international market leader in the bakery sector, delivering world-class bakery products under three distinctive brands – St Pierre, Baker Street, and Paul Hollywood. Its products are stocked in over 35,000 retail and wholesale stores worldwide in the U.K., U.S., Europe, and the Middle East.

BGF was set up in 2011 and has invested over £2.5 billion in more than 400 companies, making it the most active growth capital investor in the U.K. BGF is a minority, non-controlling equity partner with a patient outlook on investments, based on shared long-term goals with the management teams it backs. BGF invests in growing businesses in the U.K. and Ireland through its network of 16 offices. In 2018, Canada launched its equivalent – the Canadian Business Growth Fund – and in 2020, Australia did the same, both based on BGF’s approach and funding model.

Grupo Bimbo is the largest and leading baking company in the world and a relevant participant in snacks. Grupo Bimbo has 203 plants and more than 1,700 sales centers strategically located in 33 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Its main product lines include fresh and frozen sliced bread, buns, cookies, snack cakes, English muffins, bagels, pre-packaged foods, tortillas, salted snacks, and confectionery products, among others. Grupo Bimbo produces over 13,000 products and has one of the largest direct distribution networks in the world, with more than 2.8 million points of sale, around 53,000 routes, and more than 135,000 associates. Its shares trade on the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV) under the ticker symbol BIMBO, and in the over-the-counter market in the United States with a Level 1 ADR, under the ticker symbol BMBOY.

Harris Williams, an investment bank specializing in M&A advisory services, advocates for sellers and buyers of companies worldwide through critical milestones and provides thoughtful advice during the lives of their businesses. By collaborating as one firm across Industry Groups and geographies, the firm helps its clients achieve outcomes that support their objectives and strategically create value. Harris Williams is committed to execution excellence and to building enduring, valued relationships that are based on mutual trust. Harris Williams is a subsidiary of the PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC).

The Harris Williams Consumer Group has completed transactions across a variety of verticals, including food, beverage and agribusiness; branded consumer products; consumer services; and restaurant and retail. For more information on the Harris Williams Consumer Group and recent transactions, visit the Consumer Group’s section of the Harris Williams website.

Harris Williams LLC is a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC. Harris Williams & Co. Ltd is a private limited company incorporated under English law with its registered office at 8th Floor, 20 Farringdon Street, London EC4A 4AB, UK, registered with the Registrar of Companies for England and Wales (registration number 07078852). Harris Williams & Co. Ltd is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Harris Williams & Co. Corporate Finance Advisors GmbH is registered in the commercial register of the local court of Frankfurt am Main, Germany, under HRB 107540. The registered address is Bockenheimer Landstrasse 33-35, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany (email address: hwgermany@harriswilliams.com). Geschäftsführer/Directors: Jeffery H. Perkins, Paul Poggi. (VAT No. DE321666994). Harris Williams is a trade name under which Harris Williams LLC, Harris Williams & Co. Ltd and Harris Williams & Co. Corporate Finance Advisors GmbH conduct business.

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