Mars Chocolate to buy owner of Pringles for $36 billion

The owner of Mars and Snickers chocolate is preparing to strike the deal of the year in the food industry. Family-owned Mars Inc is preparing to buy Kellanova, the company that owns Pringles, for $36 billion (32.7 billion euros).

Go to Reuters The deal represents a 33% premium for Kellanova shares, as the offer means Mars is offering to pay $83.50 per share.

News of the potential acquisition seemed to have fueled deal excitement, with shares of the Pringles owner surging 8% to $80.45 before trading opened. Now, according to the publication’s calculations, the company is valued at $28.58 billion, far less than the amount in the table.

The potential deal comes as food companies including Kraft Heinz, Mondelez and Hershey are seeing slowing sales as customers tighten budgets and opt for white brands.

The deal is worth nearly 33 billion euros, surpassing the 2008 acquisition of Wrigley. The confectionery company, which includes Altoids, Orbit and Skittles, was acquired by the Mars family for $23 billion.

Now, the new acquisition will make it possible to expand Mars’ portfolio, adding Twix, Bounty or Milky Way chocolate to Kellanova confectionery, which includes names such as Pop-Tarts and Eggo frozen waffles (both well-known in the United States).

The two companies do not anticipate significant competitive challenges and expect the transaction to close in the first half of 2025.

Remember, Kellanova separated from parent company WK Kellogg (cereal owner) last October to focus on running the business. snack Salty. Kellanova’s profits will grow to $4.28 billion by 2023 on sales of about $13 billion.