Oreo maker Mondelez said to be mulling bid for Cadbury biscuit licence
The US maker of Oreo biscuits Mondelez is reportedly in negotiations to buy the licence to Cadbury biscuits from Burton Biscuits.
The talks are at the early stage and the proposed acquisition is valued at about £200m, according to Sky News.
Mondelez controversially bought Canbury six years ago for £11bn and had implications for the UK’s tax code. Kraft Foods, Mondelez’s parent company, went back on its terms to keep manufacturing sites in the UK.
The proposed deal would reunite both parts of Canbury under Mondelez.
Burton’s, which is owned by Canada’s Ontario teachers pension plan, makes biscuits such as Cadbury Fingers under the Cadbury biscuit licence.
In June Mondelez’s $23m bid for US confectionary company Hershey was rejected. Sky News also reported that Mondelez's offer for the Cadbury licence was made after its interest in Hershey was disclosed.
Burton's is being advised by Centerview Partners and Mondelez by Deutsche Bank.
Shares in Mondelez International were down 0.99% to 45.12 cents at 1657 BST.