Ülker eyes cake and chocolate companies

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet

Yıldız Holding, Chaired by Murat Ülker, owns the Ülker food company. Company photo

Leading food product manufacturer Ülker is in acquisition talks with a number of cake and chocolate manufacturers in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said Cem Karakaş, the chief financial officer of the parent company Yıldız Holding.

“The size of the companies we are looking into varies from $40-$50 million to $400-$500 million in annual turnover. We have to direct our route abroad, as our group exports to worldwide markets. In particular we are growing quickly in the Middle Eastern and African markets. We have been investing in these markets heavily the last ten years,” Karakaş said at a meeting held by the Turkish Industrialist’s and Businessmen’s Association (TÜSİAD) on May 8.

Ülker acquired Godiva Chocolatier for $850 million five years ago, in what was was one of the company’s major acquisitions.