Mondelēz – owner of British confectionery brand Cadbury – offered Burton’s about £200M for the licence, reported Sky News.
The bid was thought to be in its early stages, but if a deal is forged, it could see the two separate Cadbury arms – confectionery and biscuits – united under the Mondelēz banner.
The report follows news last month (June 30) that Mondelēz had offered £17bn ($23bn) to buy rival US confectionery firm The Hershey Company.
When asked if the deal was going ahead, A Mondelēz International spokesman said: “As a matter of principle, we do not comment on rumour or speculation.”
Julian Wild, partner at financial consultancy Rollits told FoodManufacture.co.uk that, while the sale was unconfirmed, it was still very likely to go ahead.
‘Take back control’
“I think that it’s perfectly possible that [Mondelēz] may want to take back control of [its] brands – that’s not unusual,” said Wild.
“It doesn’t particularly surprise me. I don’t know what has spurred [the deal] but it always struck me as surprising that they [Mondelēz] had those products licenced long term.
Wagon Wheels producer Burton’s was previously in talks with Mondelēz two years ago, when the company tried to sell the licence as part of its failed bid to acquire United Biscuits.
Burton’s currently manufactures Cadbury’s line of biscuits, including Chocolate Fingers and Crunchy Biscuits.
Manufactures Cadbury’s line of biscuits
The business has three manufacturing sites in Llantarnam, Edinburgh and Blackpool, as well as a chocolate refinery in Moreton and a central distribution hub in Liverpool.
Its head office is based in St Albans and a subsidiary office is located in Blackpool.
Meanwhile, turkey producer Bernard Matthews is keeping quiet on whether or not the company is for sale.
Bernard Matthews owner Rutland Partners approached financial consultancy PriceWaterhouseCoopers this month in an attempt to find a buyer of the turkey producer.