Dive Brief:
- Kellogg is one of a handful of companies from around the world that have submitted bids, all around the $3.27 billion level, to acquire United Biscuit Co., a British snack maker.
- Other bidders include rival snack makers Burton's Biscuit (controlled by the Ontario Teachers Fund, a pension investment vehicle) and Ulker Biskuvi Sanayi AS (Turkey). Ferrero SpA (Italy) and San Miguel Corp. (Philippines) have expressed interest, but have not submitted bids.
- United Biscuits, best known for its Jaffa Cake brand, was purchased in 2006 by private equity funds Blackstone Group and PAI Partners.
Dive Insight:
There was once something decidedly British about the biscuits business. Brands such as McVitie's Digestives, owned by United Biscuits, simply didn't translate well outside the U.K.
But that's no longer true in a global economy. As we saw with Kellogg's recent move in Egypt and the surge in sales for Mondelez' BelVita, it's not love that's the universal language today, it's biscuits.