The owner of iconic British chocolate brand Cadbury has announced it will buy US energy bar maker Clif Bar & Company for $2.9bn (£2.4bn).
Mondelez International – which also owns Oreo, Toblerone and Milka – says the deal will help advance its plans to “lead the future of snacking”.
The food and beverage giant also says it will continue to make Clif’s products at its Idaho and Indiana facilities.
In March, Mondelez warned of the impact of rising production costs.
In a statement Monday, the American confectionery maker said the acquisition would take its snack bar business’ value to over $1 billion.
It added that it will continue to operate Clif’s business from Emeryville, California, where the company is headquartered, once the transaction closes later this year.
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“We are delighted to welcome the iconic brands and passionate people of Clif Bar & Company to the Mondelez International family,” said Dirk Van de Put, Chairman and Chief Executive of Mondelez.
“This transaction fuels our ambition to lead the future of snacking by winning in chocolate, cookies and baked snacks while we continue to grow our high-growth snack bar business,” he added.
Clif was founded three decades ago by Gary Erickson, who, according to the company’s website, got the idea to create an energy bar during a 175-mile bike ride.
The bar opened “after countless hours in Mama’s kitchen” and was named after Mr Erickson’s father and “childhood hero” Clifford.
Clif CEO Sally Grimes said Mondelez is “the right partner at the right time to support Clif in our next growth chapter.”
Mondelez — which also owns other global brands like Daim, Ritz and Belvita — reported nearly $29 billion in net sales last year.
Like many of its competitors, however, it faces rising costs and in March announced it would reduce the size of Cadbury Dairy Milk-sharing bars by 10%.
The size of the bars has been reduced from 200g to 180g without lowering the price for customers.
“We’re trying to absorb costs wherever we can, but in this challenging environment we’ve had to make the decision to slightly reduce the weight of our Cadbury Dairy Milk mid-size bars for the first time since 2012,” said a Mondelez spokesperson.
In April, the Swiss food giant Nestlé warned against further raising the prices of its products because of rising ingredient prices.
The maker of KitKats and Nesquik said it increased its prices by more than 5% in the first three months of the year.
As costs rise, Nestle chief executive Mark Schneider said “further pricing and mitigation action throughout the year” will be needed.
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