Turkish delight at Jaffa Cake takeover

Turkish food giant gobbled up the maker of Jaffa Cakes and Twiglets

Well played, Rich Tea (Picture: McVitie's)

A Turkish food giant that owns Godiva Belgian chocolate has gobbled up the maker of Jaffa Cakes and Twiglets in a £2bn deal.

Yildiz Holding, which is thought to be the 12th largest confectionary company in the world, beat interest from breakfast cereal group Kellogg, Burton’s Biscuit and a Chinese private equity firm, Hony Capital, to buy United Biscuits.

Yildiz is understood to have paid about £2bn, including debt, to the private equity investors Blackstone and PAI Partners for the owner of McVitie’s. The pair had been trying to sell the group since 2010.

Yildiz, which has 300 brands from biscuits, cake and confectionary to dairy and soft drinks, intends to expand the British biscuit group internationally. The Istanbul-based company has a large presence in North America, China, the Middle East and North Africa and believes it can expand UB’s brands such as McVitie’s into these new markets. It will also introduce some of its own brands into UB’s established markets.

The group will keep UB’s current management in place and is thought to have no plans to cut its manufacturing plants. Murat Ulker, the chairman of the Yıldız, said: “Yildiz currently has minimal presence in the UK, so we will continue to invest in the UK and Europe.”