TORONTO — Maplehurst Bakeries, L.L.C., a subsidiary of George Weston Ltd., has agreed to acquire Keystone Bakeries L.L.C. for $185 million. Headquartered in Manchester, N.H., Keystone Bakeries is one of the largest independent companies supplying the in-store bakery and food service channels.

Keystone was formed in 2001 when Keystone Capital Inc. of Deerfield, Ill., acquired Freed’s Bakery, Manchester, from the Streeter Family. Freed’s supplies fully finished iced cupcakes to the in-store bakery industry.


In 2006, Keystone acquired Granny’s Kitchens, Frankfort, N.Y., a supplier of donuts to both the in-store bakery and food service industry. The Granny’s acquisition expanded Keystone Bakeries’ presence in the in-store bakery creating one of the largest independent suppliers of sweet goods to the industry.

In September of 2009, Keystone acquired Heartland Baking USA, DuQuoin, Ill., a specialty supplier of fully baked, ready-to-sell cookies. The addition of fully baked, thaw-and-serve cookies into the Keystone Bakeries product portfolio expanded its presence into an industry leading provider of fully baked, thaw-and-serve sweet goods.

“I am very pleased to welcome Keystone Bakeries and the employees of Freed’s, Granny’s and Heartland to the Weston Group,” said W. Galen Weston, chairman and president of Weston. “The combination of Keystone Bakery and Weston’s baking operations in the United States and Canada will allow us to better serve our customers in the North American sweet baked goods sector.”