Owner of Cadbury’s, Mondelēz International, has announced an agreement to acquire Clif Bar and Company, a US energy bar manufacturer, for $2.9 billion.

As part of the deal, Mondelēz International will acquire the brands CLIF®, LUNA® and CLIF Kid®.

The company hopes that the acquisition will expand its existing global snack bar business to more than $1 billion, including its refrigerated snacking business Perfect Snacks in the US and performance nutrition business Grenade in the UK.

Mondelēz International will continue to operate the Clif Bar and Company business from its headquarters in Emeryville, CA. The company will also continue to manufacture its products in its facilities in Twin Falls, ID, and Indianapolis, IN.

Expanding its portfolio

Earlier this year, Mondelēz International announced an agreement to acquire Ricolino, a Mexican confectionary company, from Grupo Bimbo and closed on its acquisition of Chipita S.A., a manufacturer in the Central and Eastern European snack-size cakes and pastries category.

This followed the acquisitions of Grenade; Gourmet Food Holdings, an Australian food company in the premium biscuit and cracker category; and Hu, a well-being snacking company in the United States.

Commenting on the announcement, Dirk Van de Put, chairman and CEO of Mondelēz International said: “This transaction further advances our ambition to lead the future of snacking by winning in chocolate, biscuits and baked snacks as we continue to scale our high-growth snack bar business.”

He added that Clif Bar and Company “embodies our purpose to ‘empower people to snack right’ and we look forward to advancing this important work with Clif’s committed colleagues in the years ahead.”