MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s Gruma, the world’s largest producer of corn flour, said Monday it was acquiring U.S.-based Albuquerque Tortilla Company, or ATC, for $8.8 million.

The deal includes “the inventory, brand and client portfolio for the tortilla business of ATC,” a company based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Gruma said.

ATC “sells wheat tortillas and, to a lesser extent, corn tortillas, among other products, under the ‘Albuquerque Tortilla’” brand, Gruma said.

The U.S. company had sales of $14 million in 2010, Gruma said.

The acquisition will “help expand and strengthen Gruma’s tortilla business in the United States via a solid and recognized brand in the southwestern part of the country,” the Mexican company said.

The ATC deal, moreover, “is part of the strategy of taking advantage of opportunities and synergies in the most important market for Gruma, the United States,” the Mexican company said.

Gruma, which paid off half of its debt at the beginning of this year, said it would “continue seeking expansion opportunities at the global level to consolidate its leadership position in the market.”

Management, however, “will continue to maintain financial discipline with the goal of regaining the company’s investment grade rating,” Gruma said.

Gruma, which was founded in 1949, is one of the world’s largest producers of tortillas and has operations in the United States, Mexico, Venezuela, Central America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

The Mexican food company exports its products to 105 countries around the world.

Gruma, which is based in the northern city of Monterrey, has about 20,000 employees and 95 plants. EFE