Universal Robina to acquire Malaysia’s Munchy for P22.9B

Gokongwei-led food and beverages maker Universal Robina Corp. (URC) is acquiring Malaysian biscuit maker Munchy as it aims to be a market leader in Malaysia’s biscuit segment.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday, URC said its subsidiary URC Snack Foods (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd signed an agreement to acquire from Crunchy Limited 100% of Crunchy Foods Sdn. Bhd. on November 25, 2021.

Crunchy Foods fully owns Munchy Food Industries Sdn. Bhd. and its subsidiary Munchworld Marketing Sdn. Bhd.

URC said the aggregate consideration for the acquisition is approximately Malaysian Ringgit (RM) 1.925 billion or approximately P22.9 billion on a “cash-free and debt-free basis.”

A cash-free and debt-free means that the acquiring company will not assume the seller’s debts as well as the cash on the seller’s balance sheet.

The final purchase consideration will be determined post-completion, subject to adjustment mechanisms for cash and debt levels by completion, URC said.

The transaction will allow URC to become a market leader in Malaysia in the biscuit segment, which is consistent with URC's overall purpose, the Gokongwei-led company 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, with its strong brands, talented organization, and operational excellence, 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,” said Irwin Lee, president and CEO of URC.

Established in 1991, Munchy’s is Malaysia’s leading biscuit brand. It offers a wide variety of products across all key biscuit segments, including known brands such as Munchy’s Cream Crackers, LEXUS Cream Sandwich, Oat Krunch, Muzic Wafer, and Choc-O cookies, are available in most retail outlets in Malaysia and more than 50 countries globally.

“We are excited to become part of URC. This move will allow Munchy’s to have access to Research & Development expertise in multiple categories, enhance market knowledge, route to market, and manufacturing capabilities in countries outside of Malaysia,” said Rodney Wong, Munchy’s CEO.

URC said the transaction has been approved by the board of directors of both URC Malaysia companies and Crunchy Limited.

The deal is set to be closed by December 2021 subject to fulfilment of customary closing conditions.—AOL, GMA News