Grupo Bimbo S.A.B. de C.V. has repaid its $600 million bridge loan, which was obtained for the January 2009 acquisition of the U.S. fresh bakery business of Weston Foods, Inc.

A portion of the sale of domestic bonds issued in the local debt market recently funded the payment.

“The prepayment of the bridge loan seven months prior to its maturity reflects our commitment to maintaining a healthy credit profile and a strict financial discipline,” says Guillermo Quiroz, Grupo Bimbo’s chief financial officer. “This is further supported by the market’s confidence in our cash generation, as demonstrated by the demand for our recent bond issue.”

Grupo Bimbo is one of the largest baking companies in the world in terms of production and sales volume. The Mexico City-based company operates 100 plants and 800 distribution centers in 18 countries throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Its main product lines include sliced bread, buns, cookies, snack cakes, English muffins, bagels, pre-packaged foods, tortillas, salted snacks and confectionery products, among others. Grupo Bimbo produces more than 5,000 products and has more than 40,000 routes and
100,000 employees.

For more information, go to www.grupobimbo.com.