Mondelēz, the owner of Cadbury, has bought back the licence for its biscuit business, including Cadbury’s Fingers, in a deal worth up to £200m.
The US confectionery giant previously known as Kraft, which bought Cadbury in 2010, has taken over the rights to make Cadbury’s Fingers and Animals from Burton’s Biscuits, the Birmingham-based business which held the licence in perpetuity under a deal signed in 1986.
The two companies have agreed that the Cadbury-branded biscuits will continue to be produced in Burton’s factories under a co-manufacturing agreement.
Mondelēz, which owns brands including Oreo, Ritz crackers and Belvita, has long wanted to gain control of Cadbury’s biscuit licence, according to an industry source.
Neither side confirmed the value of the deal, but it has previously been suggested it could be worth up to £200m. One industry source told the Guardian it might only be half that amount.
Burton’s said the deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, would help it “implement a transformational growth plan across its core brands, including Maryland, Jammie Dodgers, Wagon Wheels and Fish’n’Chips, and continue to invest in innovation to grow”.
The company said it wanted to be the number one manufacturer of premium branded and private label biscuits and snacks. It has been suggested that Burton’s might look to merge with a rival firm such as United Biscuits (UB) or Fox’s.
Mondelēz and Burton’s previously held talks two years ago when Burton’s was looking to offload its Cadbury biscuits business to help smooth a deal to buy UB, the owner of McVitie’s. Those talks collapsed when UB was bought by Turkey’s Yıldız for £2bn in 2014.
Talks between Mondelēz and Burton’s, which is majority owned by the Ontario Teacher’s Pension Fund, restarted a few months ago.
