London: United Biscuits, maker of McVitie’s and Jaffa Cakes, has been swallowed by a Turkish food group in an estimated £2 billion (Dh11.7 billion) deal that will create the world’s third-largest biscuit manufacturer.

Yildiz, the new owner, promised it would invest in the Middlesex-based firm, which has a 4,600-strong domestic workforce, with the chairman, Murat Ulker, tweeting: “United Biscuits is our new star.”

In a statement, he added: “We want to grow United Biscuits to be a global player as part of Yildiz. This will include enhancing its position in the UK, where Yildiz currently has minimal presence, so we will continue to invest in the UK and Europe.”

Yildiz, which owns Belgium’s Godiva Chocolate, is thought to have fought off competition from Kellogg’s in the US and rival biscuit maker Burton’s. United Biscuits employs about 7,100 people in total with about 4,600 in the UK at sites including London, Manchester, Carlisle, Glasgow, Halifax, Liverpool and Leicestershire.

The sale of United — whose brands include Jacob’s, Twiglets, Mini Cheddars, and Carr’s — will deliver a substantial payday for its private equity owners, Blackstone and PAI Partners, which teamed up to buy the business for £1.6 billion in 2006.

Two years ago United sold off its KP Snacks arm for more than £500 million to the German group Intersnack, and the deal with Yildiz brings to an end a lengthy exit for the owners who, at one point, favoured floating the company on the stock exchange.

“United Biscuits is a great business and has been an excellent investment for us,” said Lionel Assant, European head of private equity at Blackstone.

“Yildiz is the best home for the company and will allow [United Biscuits] to fulfil its international growth ambitions.”

The existing management team, led by chief executive Martin Glenn, is to remain in place.

“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.”

Ulker, whose father and uncle founded the business in 1944, owns the biscuit and chocolate company Ulker Biskuvi Sanayi but also makes drinks, dairy products and frozen foods. Istanbul-based Yildiz remains privately owned with estimated sales of $7 billion (Dh25.7 billion) last year.

The deal combines two businesses with complementary geographical footprints as at present Yildiz has a minimal presence in the UK — where United Biscuits is the market leader — but a strong presence in North America, the Middle East and North Africa, as well as China and Japan.

The deal was cautiously welcomed by union officials. Rhys McCarthy, national officer for the Unite union, said: “Today’s news ends a period of speculation over United Biscuits and we trust will lead to a future of certainty for the workforce that makes some of the nation’s favourite biscuits.

“Over the coming weeks we will be seeking assurances from the new owners about the workforce and new investment to ensure that United Biscuits remains a market leader. We will also be seeking assurances that there will be no change in the respectful relations we have with management and that the new Turkish owners recognise the important role that independent trade unions play at United Biscuits.”

The topic of foreign takeover of UK snack companies is a thorny issue following the acquisition of UK chocolate maker Cadbury by the US cheese slice group Kraft in 2010. The American firm pledged there would be no compulsory redundancies in manufacturing for two years — but a year later said that 200 jobs would have to go.

Kraft subsequently spun off its snacks business — which included Cadbury — into a new business called Mondelez International. Other recent deals include Tyrrells, the upmarket crisps brand that began as a sideline for a struggling Herefordshire potato farm, which was sold for £100 million last year to Dubai-based luxury brands investor Investcorp.

Meanwhile, in February, the sausage snack Peperami was sold to US meat snacks firm Jack Link’s by consumer goods giant Unilever, which in recent years has also sold Skippy peanut butter, its frozen meal businesses in the US, and the UK and Irish rights to cooking sauces Chicken Tonight and Ragu.

Digested biscuits

The sale of United Biscuits is the latest chapter in the two-century history of a company that was formed in 1948 with the merger of two Scottish family firms dating back to the early 19th century — Edinburgh’s McVitie & Price and Glasgow’s MacFarlane Lang.

McVitie’s had begun producing the digestive biscuit in 1892, adding chocolate in 1925. The Jaffa Cake began life in 1927. During the First World War, the firm was asked by the government to use its knowledge and production facilities to supply “iron ration” plain biscuits. After United was created in 1948, the firm expanded at home and abroad, with acquisitions including Terry’s of York — later sold. In 2000 it was bought by Finalrealm, a consortium of investors. Blackstone and PAI bought United for £1.6 billion in 2006.