Godiva owner Yildiz to buy DeMet’s Candy for $221 mln

December 28, 2013 Leave a comment

Godiva owner Yildiz to buy DeMet’s Candy for $221 mln

9:54am EST

(Reuters) – Private equity firm Brynwood Partners said it will sell its stake in DeMet’s Candy Company, the U.S. maker of Flipz chocolate pretzels and Turtles covered nut clusters, to Turkey’s Yildiz Holdings for $221 million. Brynwood formed DeMet’s Candy in 2007 to consolidate its confectionary brands including Turtles, Flipz and Treasures milk chocolates acquired from Nestle SA (NESN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz). Brynwood, The owner of Zest soaps and Soft & Dri deodorants, will also sell two U.S. manufacturing facilities as part of the deal. Yildiz, Turkey’s largest food group, owns the family-run biscuit company Ulker (ULKER.IS: Quote, Profile,Research, Stock Buzz) and premium chocolate maker Godiva. The company earlier this year bought Spanish discount retailer Dia’s (DIDA.MC: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Turkish operation DiaSA for 136.5 million euros. Houlihan Lokey Capital Inc served as the investment adviser to DeMet’s Candy, Brynwood said in a statement. The news of the sale was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

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