Puratos Agrees to Acquire Dawn Foods

Puratos and Dawn Foods, two established companies operating in professional baking, pastry and chocolate, have signed an acquisition agreement to combine their complementary capabilities.

Puratos and Dawn Foods announced that they have reached a definitive agreement for Puratos to acquire Dawn Foods. According to joint statements from Chicago, Jackson and Brussels, the completion of the transaction is subject to necessary regulatory approvals and the process is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

Puratos and Dawn Foods, two family businesses with more than a century of history, hold strong positions in the professional baking and pastry sector through their high-quality products, innovation and partnership-focused approaches. Founded in 1919 and 1920, the companies continue their growth through their long-term vision and people-oriented corporate culture.

Complementary innovation models converge
Dawn Foods is known for its expertise in American-style sweet baked products such as donuts, muffins, cookies and brownies and component solutions, with operations in North America, Europe, AMEAP and Latin America. The company helps bakeries enhance product diversity through product concepts, seasonal inspirations and ready-to-apply solutions. Dawn Foods also operates high-efficiency production facilities with a strong distribution network, particularly in North America.

Puratos supports its expertise in baking, pastry and chocolate with R&D capabilities in areas such as fermentation technologies, sourdough, grains and seeds, and chocolate production. The company operates on a global scale by transforming its advanced food science approach into innovative component solutions and serves customers through its subsidiaries in 87 countries.

This merger will combine Dawn Foods' application-focused innovation model with Puratos' R&D-based ingredient technology under one structure. Additionally, by integrating Dawn Foods' strong North America distribution network with Puratos' global subsidiary network, the aim is to reach a wider customer base.

Pierre Tossut: "An important strategic step for Puratos"
Pierre Tossut made the following statement regarding the agreement:

"This agreement represents an important strategic step for Puratos in the long term. Dawn Foods is a highly respected company whose capabilities strongly complement ours. This merger will enable us to further expand our footprint and expertise in an area where we have developed and gained deep knowledge over generations."

Carrie Jones-Barber: "A strong partner aligned with our values"
Carrie Jones-Barber stated in her statement:

"Dawn has become a global business thanks to our focus on people, product quality, service and our customers. Looking to the future, it was critical for us to find a partner aligned with our values and long-term perspective. Puratos, like Dawn, is a family business with a strong heritage and demonstrates deep commitment to the sector, quality and people."

Process to be completed by end of 2026
The companies announced that they will continue their operations independently until the completion of the transaction. It was stated that there will be no changes in daily operations, customer relations and business processes. The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of 2026 following the necessary regulatory approvals.

Under the agreement, Puratos' financial advisor is J.P. Morgan while Allen Overy Shearman Sterling LLP provides legal counsel. Dawn Foods' financial advisor is BMO Capital Markets, with Winston & Strawn LLP serving as legal counsel.

For the financing of the acquisition, Puratos has appointed KBC Bank, ING Belgium and Bank of America as joint financing arrangers.

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