€385m deals boost Aryzta

IRISH-SWISS bakery group Aryzta saw its share price jump by more than 5% yesterday on the back of announcing three significant international development deals, with a combined value of €385 million.

The Dublin-headquartered group — established two years ago by the merger of IAWS and Zurich-based company, Hiestand — has done the deals, via subsidiary companies, that will see it considerably increase its presence in Canada, Brazil and Asia.

Fresh Start Bakeries (FSB), the US company which Aryzta bought for $900m (701m) in June, is in the process of completing a €36m investment in three bakeries in Asia (Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia) as well as constructing a new bakery in Brazil. The bakeries will service an unnamed international QSR (quick service restaurant) operator currently expanding in the relevant markets.

Arzyta’s IAWS subsidiary is to buy out Canadian coffee shop retailer, Tim Horton, from the two companies’ Maidstone Bakeries joint venture in Canada, for €349m. Added to the FSB investment, the group is investing €385m in its latest development dealings.

“These investments are in keeping with our strategic positioning of developing customer partnership models with leading operators in every channel to customers. They significantly enhance our bakery capability in North America and in the emerging QSR growth regions of Latin America and Asia,” said Aryzta’s chief executive, Owen Killian.

Mr Killian also said the group remains “on track” to achieve underlying earnings per share growth in its current financial year which runs to the end of July.

Shares in the group rose €1.59 to close at €32.09.