On the Street -- Flowers Buys Leo's

October 19/Thomasville, Ga./PRNewswire-FirstCall -- Flowers Foods Inc. acquired Leo's Foods Inc., in Ft. Worth, Texas. Terms were not disclosed.

With annual sales of approximately $30 million, Leo's 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 Leo's, 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.

Leo's 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 Leo's general manager.

George E. Deese, Flowers Foods' chairman of the board, chief executive officer, and president, said, "Leo's Foods brings to Flowers a solid company with decades of experience in making high-quality tortilla products. Leo's 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. We're pleased to have this fine organization join Flowers Foods."

From the October 26, 2009, Prepared Foods E-dition