Ülker Bisküvi buys controlling stake in Egyptian Hi Food

Ülker Bisküvi, owned by Yıldız Holding, announced necessary steps have been taken for the purchase of 51 percent ownership of Ul Egypt, which holds 90 percent ownership in the Hi Food Company operating in Egypt. According to an announcement made through the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP), the cost of the purchase is $30 million and Ülker Bisküvi Sanayi A.Ş. will thereby own 45.9 percent of the total shares of Hi Food, thus retaining controlling stakes and decision-making power.

Ülker Bisküvi realized a net profit of TL 260.3 million ($89.3 million) in 2015, showing a 23-percent increase in net profits compared to 2015. In January, Yıldız Holding CEO Murat Ülker said that the Godiva, DeMet's, United Biscuits and Ülker brands would be gathered under the new brand Pladis. At a meeting held at Yıldız Holding headquarters, Ülker provided information regarding the group's future and announced the decision to unite their newest brands - Godiva, DeMet's and United Biscuits - together with Ülker. He said that they can secure their places in markets where they are the leader, and they can open other markets around the world where there are various advantages. "We see this as a great opportunity," Ülker said. Yıldız Holding is active in 14 countries, has 77 plants, 300 brands and more than 1,000 sales points, and Ülker said that they have accomplished their dream of becoming a global brand. "Our family has grown considerably. We are a family of around 50,000 people. Our group will grow by 10 percent this year, but for now we want to focus on our main job - biscuits, chocolates and sweets. We want to become globalized, so we need to reorganize our business. Our aim is to unite our power and combine our companies under one brand to become a leader in the sweet snacks market," Ülker said.

The company's structure has been renewed and reorganized, and they have separated regions of the world and distributed these regions among their CEOs. Yıldız Holding Food Group CEO Mehmet Tütüncü will be responsible for Turkey, the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia; Godiva CEO Mohamed Elsarky for America and Japan, and United Biscuit CEO Jeff van der Eeems for the U.K., Europe and Africa.