Yildiz Holdings buys UB: a handful of biscuit brands

Turkish food giant Yildiz Holdings has grabbed a tin-full of sweet and savoury biscuit brands in its purchase of United Biscuits.

The company behind Godiva Chocolate and De Met’s Candy Company, Yildiz, has now taken on the McVitie’s, Jaffa Cakes and Penguin brands as well as Mini Cheddars and Twiglets, in a deal thought to be worth £2 billion.

Private equity owners PAI Partners and Blackstone put the largest UK biscuit maker up for sale, which had also attracted the interest of breakfast cereals company Kellogg’s and Jammy Dodger maker Burton’s Biscuits. Both had sent in bids for UB, but were beaten to the post by Yildiz.

PAI Partners and Blackstone had unsuccessfully tried to sell the business before, after buying it in 2006 for £1.6 billion.

UB owns four of the five biggest selling biscuit brands in the UK. It employs 7,100 people, with 4,600 based at sites across Britain.

The deal enables Yildiz to both establish manufacturing and further its sales in Britain, while the acquired biscuit brands’ sales will be propelled forward by Yildiz’s current operations in North America, North Africa, the Middle East, China and Japan.

Yildiz chairman Murat Ulker said: “We want to grow United Biscuits to be a global player as part of Yildiz. This will include enhancing its position in the UK, where Yildiz currently has minimal presence, so we will continue to invest in the UK and Europe.”

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