Turkey's Yildiz Holding AS is bulking up in the confection business with a deal to acquire DeMet's Candy Co. Yildiz is the owner of Godiva chocolates, while DeMet is the US maker of Flipz chocolate pretzels and Turtles covered nut clusters.

According to Wall Street Journal, Yildiz has agreed to pay $221 million for DeMet's. The American confectionery company is owned by Connecticut-based buyout firm Brynwood Partners.

Brynwood bought DeMet's brands from Swiss food and beverage company Nestle SA in separate transactions. The buyout firm first acquired Flipz in 2004 and then Turtles in 2007, the report said.

Yildiz owns a broad range of businesses, from an equipment leasing unit and a toolmaker to retail outlets and a venture capital firm. The holding company is based in Istanbul, WSJ said.

But Yildiz's roots are in the food business, particularly confections. It made a splash in 2008 when one of its subsidiaries paid Campbell Soup Co. $850 million to buy gourmet chocolatier Godiva, the report said.

Yildiz in a statement said that the DeMet's deal is an attempt to build on the Godiva acquisition. The transaction is expected to further develop its ongoing commercial activity in the US.