British snack manufacturing giant, United Biscuits has been sold to Yildiz Holding for around £2bn. Yildiz beat American cereals maker Kelloggs and Burtons Biscuits in the bidding war to own the company.
United Biscuits has been in the hands of PAI Partners and Blackstone, two private equity firms, for the last eight years.
Commenting on the sale, Martin Glenn, CEO of United Biscuits, said, “We look forward to being part of Yildiz as we continue to fulfil our growth potential both in the UK and abroad where we are looking to expand our share of the biscuit and snacking markets and where there is huge potential for all our brands.'
United Biscuits is one of the leading manufacturer and marketer of biscuits in the UK and second largest in the Netherlands, France, Belgium and Ireland. It employs about 7,100 people, with 4,600 in the UK at sites including London, Manchester, Carlisle, Glasgow, Halifax and Liverpool.
The firm's popular brand names include: McVitie’s, Penguin, go ahead!, McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes, Jacob’s, Jacob’s Cream Crackers, Twiglets, Mini Cheddars and Carr's in the UK. It owns and operates 16 manufacturing facilities of which seven are in the UK
Istanbul-based group, Yildiz owns Belgium's Godiva Chocolate and America's De Met's Candy Company. The company has no operations in the UK, but has a presence in the US, Middle East, North Africa, China, and Japan.