Mondelez acquires bakery company Give & Go

Global snack maker Mondelez International said Tuesday it plans to acquire a majority interest in in-store bakery company Give & Go from private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners.

While company officals would not disclose the terms, Bloomberg News is reporting Deerfield-based Mondelez will pay $1.2 billion in the deal.

The owner of well-known brands ranging from Oreo cookies to Cadbury chocolates, Mondelez will be adding Give & Go's popular Two-Bite brownies and Create-A-Treat gingerbread house decorating kits to its portfolio. Founded in 1989, Ontario, Canada-based Give & Go are a complementary addition to Mondelez International's portfolio, company officials said in a statement.

Give & Go's growth over the past few leads let to the company achieving net revenues of approximately $500 million in 2019.

“Give & Go's leading position in the large and fast-growing in-store bakery channel gives us a unique opportunity to expand into new, on-trend consumer spaces” said Glen Walter, executive vice president and president, North America for Mondelez.

Give & Go will continue to operate as a separate company under the agreement, and the company's senior leadership team, which includes President and CEO Joel Flatt, will continue to run the company and retain a minority interest. All products will continue to be made at their current manufacturing locations, company officials said.

“There are significant opportunities for us to accelerate the growth of our business by utilizing Mondelez International's unique capabilities, and our shared desire to invest in innovation that drives consumer engagement and deeper strategic retail partnerships,” Flatt said.

Give & Go is the latest in a series of acquisitions made by Mondelez over the past year, as the company looks to update its portfolio to accommodate changing tastes among consumers. Last June, the company bought a majority stake in Perfect Snacks, a California-based maker of healthy, refrigerated nutrition bars, for an undisclosed amount. The company in 2018 acquired New York-based Tate's Bake Shop, a maker of small batch cookies, for approximately $500 million.

“This is yet another great example of our bolt-on acquisition strategy to establish foundations in faster growing snacking adjacencies,” said Walter.

The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2020.