Sale instead of IPO
United Biscuits was rumoured to go public this summer, but its owners (investment firms Blackstone and PAI Partners) have now decided to sell. The new owner, Yildiz Holding from Turkey, is believed to have paid at least 2.5 billion euro according to British business paper Financial Times. Kellogg’s, Burton’s Biscuits and Chinese investor Hony Capital had apparently also expressed an interest, but in the end, the Turkish bid won out.
Yildiz Holding also owns several other companies, like Belgian chocolate maker Godiva and American De Met’s Candy Company. With the addition of United Biscuits, it will now become the third largest cookie manufacturer in the world. United Biscuit – Great Britain’s largest cookie manufacturer and number two in Belgium, Netherlands, France and Ireland – employs 7,100 people in 16 different factories.
