Bridor strikes largest-ever deal with €600M Panamar acquisition, targets frozen bakery dominance
Key takeaways
- Groupe Le Duff’s Bridor signs purchase agreement for Spain’s Panamar Bakery Group, its largest acquisition to date.
- The acquisition brings Bridor’s combined revenue to an expected €2.5 billion (US$2.9 billion) in 2026, up from €750 million (US$870 million) in 2021.
- The deal strengthens Bridor’s Iberian footprint and adds 1,200 product references across bread, viennoiserie and patisserie.
Groupe Le Duff’s bakery subsidiary Bridor has signed a purchase agreement to acquire Spanish frozen bakery group Panamar in a deal the French company calls its largest acquisition to date, as it pushes to become one of the world’s biggest players in premium frozen bakery and viennoiserie.
Panamar, a family-owned manufacturer and distributor of frozen bakery products based in Valencia, generated €600 million (US$696 million) in revenue in 2026 and employs 2,600 people. The company produces primarily bread, alongside viennoiserie and patisserie, offering more than 1,200 product references and exporting to over 20 countries through an integrated production and distribution network.
The deal marks the latest — and largest — step in an acquisition spree that brings Bridor’s combined revenue to an expected €2.5 billion (US$2.9 billion) in 2026, up from €750 million (US$870 million) in 2021. Groupe Le Duff says its global investment plan aims to double the group’s industrial division, of which Bridor is the major component, by 2031. The parent company, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary, expects group-wide revenue of €3.5 billion (US$4.06 billion) across its bakery, ready meals, restaurant and real estate divisions.
“Integrating Panamar Bakery Group enables Bridor to take another decisive step forward by becoming a global leader in bakery and Viennese pastry products and a major player in the Iberian Peninsula,” says Philippe Morin, CEO of Bridor. “It perfectly reflects our mission statement: to bring to life the bakery cultures of the world.”
“We are embarking on this new chapter with confidence,” says Panamar president Isabel Martinez. “The entrepreneurial spirit and family values that drive us form a common foundation that Le Duff Group and Bridor will continue to nurture.”
From left to right: Jean-Jacques Masse of Meilleur Ouvrier de France Cuisine and consultant for Le Duff Group; Louis Le Duff, CEO of Le Duff Group; Pierre Koch, EMEA executive chef at Bridor; Philippe Morin, CEO of Bridor; Frédéric Lalos of Meilleur Ouvrier de France Boulangerie.
Bridor’s expansion has been building steadily across three continents. In the Americas, the company doubled its Montréal factory in 2021, acquired Lecoq Cuisine in Connecticut in 2022, expanded its Vineland, New Jersey, facility in 2025 and is building new plants in Utah and Texas.
In Europe, acquisitions of Portugal’s Panidor in 2022 and the Netherlands’ Pandriks in 2024 were followed by factory investments in Fulda, Germany, and Meppel, the Netherlands, plus a new specialty facility in Switzerland and a factory in Falaise, France. In Asia-Pacific, Bridor acquired Australia and New Zealand-based Laurent Bakery and doubled its Chinese factory, both in 2025.
The company supplies frozen bread, viennoiserie and patisserie to 90,000 restaurants and hotels across 100 countries, and works with chefs including Pierre Hermé and Frédéric Lalos.
Completion of the transaction is subject to standard regulatory conditions. BNP, Crédit Agricole CIB, Rabobank and several other financial institutions assisted Groupe Le Duff with the deal’s financial structuring, while Bird & Bird and EY advised the buyer, and Garrigues and Houlihan Lokey advised the sellers.
