WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. is adding fresh bread to its corporate platter.
Krispy Kreme said Friday it is buying Montana Mills Bread Co. Inc., a bakery chain based in Rochester, N.Y., for stock valued at about $40 million.
The doughnut store chain said the purchase would help it develop a bakery-cafe concept over the next two years.
"This acquisition is a natural outgrowth of the development of Krispy Kreme over the past five years," Krispy Kreme chairman and chief executive Scott Livengood said. "In Montana Mills, we found the perfect foundation for this new concept — passionate bread bakers who have created a fiercely loyal customer following around a wide variety of fresh-baked goods, bread-baking theater and sampling of large slices of bread."
Montana Mills owns and operates about 30 stores in upstate New York; eastern Pennsylvania; Columbus, Ohio; and Hartford, Conn. Its stores cater to affluent customers, offering baked goods, ready-made sandwiches, specialty coffees and gift items.
The six-year-old Montana Mills went public with an initial public offering of stock in July and said in an SEC filing that it planned to begin selling franchises. Krispy Kreme franchises its doughnut stores. There are more than 265 Krispy Kreme stores in 37 states and Canada.