Puratos to Acquire Dawn Foods, Bringing Together Complementary Capabilities in Professional Bakery

CHICAGO and JACKSON, Mich. and BRUSSELS, March 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Puratos and Dawn Foods today announced that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement under which Puratos intends to acquire Dawn Foods, subject to all customary regulatory approvals.

For more than a century, Puratos and Dawn Foods have each built strong and trusted businesses with a passion for providing high-quality products, inspiration and partnership to the professional bakery world. Founded in 1919 and 1920, respectively, these family–owned companies have grown with a deep sense of purpose, guided by a long–term vision and a people–first culture that continues to inspire their teams and customers alike.

Puratos and Dawn Foods have developed distinct and complementary capabilities, both serving professional bakers, pastry chefs, retailers and food manufacturers by translating consumer trends and insights into ingredient solutions.

Dawn Foods, with operations across North America, Europe, AMEAP and Latin America, is widely recognized for its expertise in authentic American sweet baked goods and ingredient solutions for applications such as donuts, muffins, cookies and brownies. Its innovation model is driven by the creation of product concepts, seasonal inspiration and customer-ready solutions that enable bakeries to differentiate and optimize their assortment. Dawn Foods also operates highly efficient production facilities that deliver quality and reliability at scale and has a strong distribution network, particularly in North America.

Puratos complements this with expertise across bakery, patisserie and chocolate, including fermentation, sourdough, grains and seeds, patisserie classics and chocolate craftsmanship. Its innovation approach is strongly rooted in ingredient technology and long-term R&D, translating food science into differentiated ingredient solutions. Puratos operates technology-driven manufacturing sites designed to integrate advanced functionality and more tailored production and serves customers through a global network of local subsidiaries active in 87 countries.

This combination would bring together complementary innovation engines - Dawn Foods' application-led creativity and Puratos' R&D-led ingredient technology - alongside complementary production models. Dawn Foods' large-scale, standardized manufacturing and Puratos' more flexible and tailored production. It would also connect Dawn Food's extensive North American distribution footprint with Puratos' broad international subsidiary network.

These combined capabilities would allow Puratos to better serve customers whose needs increasingly span both efficient mainstream production and more technology-driven solutions, across a wider range of bakery and sweet goods applications, than either Puratos or Dawn Foods can do alone. This combination would also reinforce a long-term commitment to innovation, food science and the continued development of people and capabilities across both organizations.

"This agreement reflects a major long-term step for Puratos," said Pierre Tossut, Chief Executive Officer of Puratos. "Dawn Foods is a highly respected company with capabilities that complement our own. The agreement shows our ambition to further expand our footprint and capabilities within a space we know well, understand deeply, and have successfully developed over generations."

Carrie Jones-Barber, Chief Executive Officer of Dawn Foods, said, "Dawn has grown into a global business by staying focused on what matters most - our people, our products, and the customers we serve. As we looked to the future, it was important to find a partner aligned with our values and our long-term view of the business. Like Dawn, Puratos is a family-owned company with a strong heritage and a deep commitment to people, quality, and the baking industry."

Timing and Approvals

The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, subject to the receipt of all required regulatory approvals. Until the transaction is complete, Puratos and Dawn Foods remain fully independent companies and will continue to operate separately. There are no changes to day-to-day operations, customer relationships or commercial arrangements.

Advisors and Underwriters

J.P. Morgan is acting as exclusive financial advisor and Allen Overy Shearman Sterling LLP is acting as legal counsel to Puratos. 

BMO Capital Markets is acting as exclusive financial advisor and Winston & Strawn LLP is acting as legal counsel to Dawn Foods.

Puratos appointed KBC Bank NV, ING Belgium SA/NV and Bank of America as joint Underwriters and Bookrunning Mandated Lead Arrangers (BMLA) for the financing of this acquisition.

About Puratos

Puratos is an international group which offers a full range of innovative food ingredients and services for the bakery, patisserie and chocolate sectors. It services artisans, retailers, industrial and food service companies in over 100 countries around the world. Its headquarters are located in Belgium, where the company was founded in 1919.

Puratos believes that food has extraordinary power in people's lives. It does not take this responsibility lightly. This is why it aims to help customers be even more successful with their business, by turning technologies and experience gathered from food cultures around the world into new opportunities. Together with them, Puratos moves the planet forward by creating innovative food solutions for the health and well-being of people everywhere.

For more information, visit www.puratos.com.

About Dawn Foods

Global bakery manufacturer and ingredients supplier Dawn Foods has established itself as a key bakery service provider, inspiring bakery success every day. Committed to delighting its customers around the world, Dawn Foods delivers the partnership, insights, innovations, products, and bakery expertise that empowers them to achieve their aspirations. Headquartered in Jackson, Michigan, Dawn Foods partners with more than 50,000 artisanal and retail bakers, food service leaders and manufacturers located in more than 100 countries and has nearly 4,000 Team Members globally. Since 1920, Dawn Foods has been a trusted advisor to its customers, helping drive their business forward.

For more information about the company, its products and culture, visit www.dawnfoods.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially depending on regulatory approvals and other factors.

Contacts

Puratos:

Philippe Arnauts, Group Communication Director
[email protected], [email protected], and [email protected]

Dawn Foods:

Alexis Gilbert, Vice President of Brand and Communication
[email protected]

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SOURCE Puratos USA Corporation