Mondelez to buy energy bar maker Clif Bar for about $3 billion

(Reuters) -Mondelez International Inc said on Monday it will buy energy bar maker Clif Bar & Company for $2.9 billion to expand its global snack bar business.

The Cadbury maker will also pay additional amounts to the sellers depending upon its earnings from Clif Bar, Mondelez said.

The company said it will get the Clif, Luna and Clif Kid brands of bars in its portfolio through the acquisition, creating a $1 billion-plus global snack bar franchise for itself.

“Mondelēz International is the right partner at the right time to support Clif in our next chapter of growth,” said Sally Grimes, Chief Executive Officer, Clif Bar & Company. “Our purposes and cultures are aligned and being part of a global snacking company with broad product offerings can help us accelerate our growth.”

Mondelez will continue to manufacture Clif’s products in its facilities at Twin Falls in Idaho and Indianapolis in Indiana, the company said.

The food and beverage giant, which also makes Toblerone, Oreo and Tang, expects the transaction to be accretive to its topline in the second year following the deal and will also create cost synergies for Clif’s distribution due to the company’s global scale.

Clif Bar’s acquisition marks the ninth deal since 2018 as Mondelez works towards reshaping its portfolio for higher long-term growth.

Mondelez expects organic net revenue to increase over 4% in 2022, while its long-term growth target is of more than 3%.

The deal is expected to close in the third quarter, Mondelez said.

(Reporting by Leroy Leo in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler, Deepa Babington and Diane Craft)