Turkey’s Godiva chocolate and McVitie biscuits owners are suspending plans to sell some of their assets and will increase food production to meet the increased demand due to the coronavirus pandemic.
According to people familiar with the matter, Yildiz Holding AS has suspended its efforts to dispose of its frozen food unit Kerevitas Gida Sanayi ve Ticaret AS and its British biscuit unit Jacob’s. They said that based on investor interest in assets, it will still withdraw from its core business of food production.
People familiar with the matter said that the world’s third-largest biscuit manufacturer is pursuing sales growth of more than 10% by increasing production this year. Yildiz, owned by the family of Turkish billionaire Murat Ulker, used a surge in food demand to repay bank loans after restructuring $6.5 billion in debt in 2018. This is a Turkish company The largest debt restructuring in history.
Yildiz said last week that based on the use of sales generated abroad, Yildiz had repaid $600 million in advance, bringing the total amount of repayment under an agreement with Turkish lenders to $2.6 billion.
Although refusing to comment on the changes in the asset strategy or its prospects, Yildiz said in an email that despite the exceptional circumstances caused by the global pandemic, the performance in the first half of the year remained “strong”. The organization predicts that by 2020, sales in the industry will increase by double digits from 65 billion lire ($8.8 billion) a year ago, with exports and international business accounting for 40%.
Kerevitas said in December that it had hired Morgan Stanley to evaluate the options for the business. People familiar with the matter said at the time that Yildiz appointed Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. early last year to sell its shares in Jacob’s biscuit business and its production facilities in the UK.
Istanbul’s Kerevitas rose 5.5% to 5.21 lire, rising for the fourth consecutive day. Gozde Girisim, the group’s private equity arm backed by Franklin Resources Inc., fell 6.2%, while Ulker Biskuvi Sanayi AS, the group’s main snack maker, fell 1.7%.
People familiar with the matter said that the process of selling Kumas Manyezit Sanayi AS, the mining and brick-making unit of the holding company, is being approved by the antitrust authorities.
Yildiz conducted international expansion through acquisitions of more than US$4.3 billion between 2008 and 2016, including Belgium’s Godiva Chocolatier Inc., United Biscuits and DeMet’s Candy Corp.. It sold its Godiva chocolate business to North Asia Private Equity Fund for $1.3 billion in early 2019, while retaining ownership of these brands.
The department said last month that Ulker Biskuvi, who has factories in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan, expects sales this year to increase by 17%, compared with a 20% increase in the first six months. .
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Post time: Sep-02-2020