George Weston to sell bakery business for $1.2 billion

Galen Weston, director of George Weston Limited speaks at the company's annual general meeting in Toronto on Tuesday, May 10, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

George Weston Ltd said on Tuesday it would sell its Weston Foods fresh and frozen bakery businesses to baking company FGF Brands Inc for C$1.2 billion (US$970.08 million), as the Canadian food producer looks to shift focus to its retail and real estate units.

Earlier this year, the owner of grocer Loblaw Cos Ltd , put its Weston Foods business up for sale. The company said on Tuesday it was "actively engaged" in selling its remaining business that includes cookies, cones, crackers and wafers.

George Weston's bakery businesses accounted for about 75 per cent of Weston Foods' annual net sales, which was C$2.1 billion last year.

FGF Brands is an industrial baker based in Ontario, that uses robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) systems to make its breads and muffins.

The deal, which is in all cash, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022.

(Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)