Universal Robina Corporation to acquire Malaysian biscuit company for MYR 1.93bn

Philippines-based food and beverage company, Universal Robina Corporation (URC), has agreed to acquire 100% of Munchy Food Industries and its wholly owned subsidiary Munchworld Marketing from CVC Capital Partners for MYR 1.93 billion (approx. $453.8 million).

Founded in 1991, Munchy’s brands include Munchy’s Cream Crackers, Lexus Cream Sandwich, Oat Krunch, Muzic Wafer and Choc-O cookies. Munchy’s brands are available at Malaysian retailers and in over 50 countries worldwide.

URC’s president and CEO, Irwin Lee, said: “URC is delighted to announce the acquisition of Munchy’s, which will add immediate value to our international product portfolio, and scale up our Malaysian market position to leadership in the biscuits category. Munchy’s…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.”

Munchy’s CEO Rodney Wong added: “This move will allow Munchy’s to have access to research and development expertise in multiple categories, enhance market knowledge, route to market and manufacturing capabilities in countries outside of Malaysia. This will translate to the development of innovative forward-thinking offerings to our consumers and strengthen our presence in the ASEAN market.”

The transaction is expected to close by next month and is subject to customary closing conditions.