Grupo Bimbo, the Mexico-based bakery firm, has teamed up with US investment fund Yucaipa Companies in a bid to buy ailing US baker Interstate Bakeries Corp (IBC).
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The proposal was announced late on Friday (2 November) by the Teamsters trade union, which said it had joined forces with Bimbo Bakeries USA and Yucaipa to bail out the Twinkies bread maker.
The Teamsters union has opposed IBC’s own plans to revive the business, claiming the company’s plans were “a recipe for another bankruptcy”.
IBC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2004 but is seeking financing of around US$400m to prop up the business, a move the Teamsters union opposed. In August, IBC said it would close down its bread operations in Southern California in a bid to keep the business going.
“Our plan is in direct contrast to IBC’s proposed financing plan with Silver Point,” said Richard Volpe, director of the Teamsters Bakery and Laundry Conference. “We have low expectations in IBC’s plan to sustain the company for any length of time. Our main goal was to find an investor and a management team that would honour our sacrifices, deal with us with respect, and create a viable business that provides ongoing goods and services to its creditors and vendors.
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By GlobalDataVolpe added: “This plan calls for our members to make sacrifices, which is never easy, but given our alternatives this is a home run.”
Officials at IBC could not be reached for immediate comment.
