Dive Brief:
- The bidding period for Bisco Misr has been extended to Jan. 11 by Egypt's financial regulatory agency.
- The extension comes after an eruption of bidding on Dec. 24. On that day, Egypt's Abraaj Asset Management, the largest private equity firm in the Middle East, boosted its bid for the snack and cake maker. Hours later, Kellogg responded by increasing its bid as well.
- The extension in bidding means that the battle between Kellogg and Abraaj for the maker of Luxe cakes will enter yet another month. Both companies have already made four offers.
Dive Insight:
The price for Bisco Misr, judging by Kellogg's latest bid and subject to currency exchange rates, is now somewhere in the neighborhood of $144 million. That's about 20% higher than when the bidding war began.
That may seem like an extraordinarily high increase, but the price could go much higher by Jan. 11, and likely will. Because as we noted in September when Kellogg first stuck its toe in the water, "Little cakes and biscuits such as the ones made by Bisco Misr are enormously popular....[and] there's lots of money to be made in feeding the Middle East's sweet tooth."