URC acquires Malaysian biscuit maker

MANILA, Philippines — Universal Robina Corp. (URC), the Gokongwei-led snack foods giant, has gobbled up a biscuit company in Malaysia for roughly P22.9 billion.

URC Snack Foods (Malaysia) Sdn Bh, URC’s wholly owned subsidiary, munched on Munchy Food Industries Sdn. Bhd., Malaysia’s top biscuit brand which was established in 1991.

The URC subsidiary reached an agreement with  private equity firm CVC Capital Partners (CVC) to acquire a 100 percent stake in Munchy’s and its subsidiary Munchworld Marketing Sdn. Bhd. from CVC Asia IV for 1.925 billion Malaysian Ringgit (equivalent to P22.9 billion) on a “cash-free, debt free” basis.

Munchy’s offerings, available in more than 50 countries globally, include Munchy’s Cream Crackers, LEXUS Cream Sandwich, Oat Krunch, Muzic Wafer and Choc-O cookies.

Irwin Lee, president and CEO of URC, said the acquisition of Munchy’s would add immediate value to the company’s international product portfolio, and scale up its Malaysian market position to leadership in the biscuits category.

“Munchy’s, with its strong brands, talented organization, and operational excellence, is a great strategic fit with URC.  Together, we will be able to further expand the footprint of URC and Munchy’s brands and unlock growth synergies in Malaysia as well as across the ASEAN region,” Lee said.

Alvin Lim, senior managing director of CVC, said it has been a highly successful partnership between CVC and the excellent leadership team at Munchy’s that has seen the company expand into new geographies and the launch of numerous innovative and delicious products.

Rodney Wong, Munchy’s CEO, said the move would allow Munchy’s to have access to research & development expertise in multiple categories, enhance market knowledge, route to market, and manufacturing capabilities in countries outside of Malaysia.

“This will translate to development of innovative forward-thinking offerings to our consumers and strengthen our presence in the ASEAN market,” Wong also said.