Mexican giant takes over Slovenian baking group
Slovenian baked goods group Don Don, which is present across large parts of the Balkans, has become a part of Grupo Bimbo from Mexico, the largest baker in the world. The value of the transaction has not been disclosed.
Announcing the move on 30 October, the privately held Don Don said that it would lead Grupo Bimbo's development and sales in central and southern Europe, where Grupo Bimbo has not been present so far.
Don Don said that it intends to grow its share in the markets where it is present. It currently has subsidiaries in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia. It also exports goods to Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece and Slovakia.
In Slovenia, it operates two production facilities - one in Kranj and one in Grosuplje - and owns the brands Tvojih 5 Minut and Pekarna Grosuplje.
"Through Grupo Bimbo, Don Don baking products will get a unique opportunity for promotion and sales on global markets," Don Don said.
The consolidated group will strengthen its presence in the region and invest in high technology plants, strategic partnerships and takeovers in key markets, it added.
The strategic partnership, whose details have not been disclosed, will be finalised pending several conditions for both parties, which Don Don and Bimbo intend to meet in the next five months.
Don Don was founded in Metlika in southeastern Slovenia in 1994. In 2003 it ventured into Croatia and by 2008 it became the largest bakery company in Serbia. In Slovenia, it took over Pekarna Grosuplje in 2015.
The group which employs over 2,400 people, posted sales of €190 million for 2023, a 8% increase on the year before, with net profit almost doubling to €21 million.Grupo Bimbo is present in 35 countries in both North and South America, Europe, Asia ad Africa. It operates nearly 230 production facilities and over 1,500 sales centres.
The group is orders of magnitude larger than Don Don. In the third quarter of this year alone it posted net sales of 106 billion Mexican pesos (roughly $5.25 billion), with a gross profit of 56 billion pesos.
