Kirkland & Ellis, Linklaters and Travers Smith have taken the lead roles on Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan's (OTPP) acquisition of Burton's Biscuits, the makers of Jammie Dodgers.

Burton's, whose range of biscuit brands also includes Cadbury Fingers and Maryland Cookies, employs more than 2,000 people in the UK and boasted recent annual sales of £340m.

Kirkland took the lead role for OTPP, with London-based corporate partner Gavin Gordon leading a team that included corporate partner Justin Hutchinson, finance partners Philip Crump and Sam Norris and tax partner Jane Scobie. Additional support was provided by antitrust partner Sarah Jordan and IP partner Shannon Yavorsky.

The sale by Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management means ownership of the company has changed three times in less than seven years.

This time round, OTPP's private equity investment division Teachers' Private Capital (TPC) won a competitive bidding process after putting in an offer reported to be £350m.

The sellers turned to Linklaters, which fielded a team headed by private equity partner Carlton Evans. Travers Smith represented Burton's management, with private equity partners Edmund Reed and Chris Hale heading a team that included senior tax counsel Hannah Manning.

Burton's management will retain a significant minority stake in the company, though the terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

With around $130bn in assets, OTPP is the largest single-profession pension plan in Canada. TPC manages a global portfolio valued at approximately $12bn.