Snack favourites including KP Nuts, McCoy’s crisps and Hula Hoops, which are made at sites in the North East, were sold to a German firm today with a major presence in the region, in a deal thought to be worth more than £500m.
KP Snacks, which is the UK’s second largest snack maker, will come under the ownership of Intersnack after being put up for sale by McVitie’s and Jacob’s owner United Biscuits.
Around 1,500 people work for Middlesex-based KP Snacks, which has factories in Billingham and Consett, as well as Ashby de la Zouch in Leicestershire and Rotherham, South Yorkshire.
Subject to completion next year, they will join the UK savoury snacks business of Intersnack, which makes Pom-Bear crisps and Penn State pretzels at Tanfield Lea in County Durham.
United, which is owned by private equity firms Blackstone and PAI Partners, will retain the baked bagged snacks brands manufactured in its biscuit factories, including Mini Cheddars and Twiglets.
Other brands in the KP Snacks business sold today include Wheat Crunchies, Skips, Brannigans and Cheese Footballs.
Including KP Snacks, United employs around 8,000 people, 7,000 of them in the UK. Intersnack was founded in 1968 and is on track for record sales of £1.4bn this year, including £80m from the UK.
Executive chairman Maarten Leerdam said the company appreciated the "significance of acquiring a part of British heritage".
He added: "Intersnack is a strong believer in the power of iconic, local hero brands, and we aim to leverage these strengths for further expansion."
United was bought by the private equity firms for £1.6bn in 2006 and has been the subject of sale speculation in the last couple of years.
It dates back to 1948, when it was formed from the merger of two Scottish family businesses - McVitie & Price and MacFarlane Lang.
Talks with several big groups, including China’s Bright Foods, Kellogg’s and Kraft Foods, failed to drum up a credible bid in 2010, prompting its owners to consider splitting the business into two.
