Ferrero tables bid to buy Belgian biscuit maker Delacre

Italian confectionery group Ferrero has tabled a bid to buy Belgian biscuit maker Delacre, owned by Pladis, a subsidiary of Turkey-based Godiva chocolate maker Yildiz Holding, Italian daily newspaper La Stampa reported.

"This is an opportunity to establish ourselves in a market in which we are not yet present and has a significant growth potential," Ferrero said in an internal communiqué, which Stampa was able to obtain, but, the communiqué did not give any financial details of the transaction.

Yildiz, which also owns brands McVitie and Nutella, said last month that it plans to list Pladis in London by 2020, but retain a majority stake.

Delacre, which was founded in 1891 by Brussels pharmacist Charles Delacre, makes high quality pastry biscuits like "Marquisette", "Biarritz", "Délichoc, and others.

The company was acquired in 1998 by British group United Biscuits, which in turn was acquired in 2014 by Yildiz Holding.

It has two production sites located at Lambermont in Belgium and Nieppe in France, employs around 300 people, and posted a turnover of €120 million last year.

Founded in 1944 and based in Istanbul, Yildiz exports 160 brands and 2,700 products to 110 countries. The Istanbul-based company has 53 plants around the world, including 44 in Turkey and 9 abroad.

The group employs more than 33,000 people and has annual turnover of around 13 billion Tukish Lira.

Yildiz is preparing to launch confectionery and biscuits company Pladis by combining United Biscuits, Godiva Chocolatier, Ülker Çikolata Sanayi A.S. and DeMet's Candy Company and list it on the London Stock Exchnage.