Turkey's Yildiz Holding said it had acquired UK-based cookies and snacks maker United Biscuits, in a move it said made it the world's third-biggest biscuit maker and would help it expand to new markets.

Yildiz, a food and beverages maker which owns Ulker Biskuvi , said in a statement that it had beaten breakfast cereal maker Kellogg Co and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, which bought Burton's Biscuit last year, in the United deal. It gave no financial details.

Yildiz had said in September that it was interested in investing in Jaffa cakes maker United Biscuits, owned by private equity firms Blackstone Group and PAI Partners. - Reuters