Featured White Papers
- Enterprise PBX comparison guide (VoIP-News)
- Enterprise PBX buyer's guide (VoIP-News)
- Hosted CRM buyer's guide (Inside CRM)
Content provided in partnership with
Mars to purchase Wrigley
Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Apr 29, 2008 by Associated Press
CHICAGO -- The Oracle of Omaha is betting that the country's candy jar is recession-proof.
With financing from Warren Buffett, candymaker Mars Inc. on Monday said it is buying confectioner Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. for an estimated $23 billion in cash. The deal would marry brands that sweet-toothed Americans have munched on for decades: Mars owns Snickers and M & Ms; Wrigley's gum brands include Juicy Fruit, Orbit, Extra and Big Red.
Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. will purchase a $2.1 billion minority equity interest in the Wrigley subsidiary once the deal is completed. The company, based in Omaha, Neb., also offered $4.4 billion of subordinated debt to fund the deal.
Under the agreement, shareholders at Chicago-based Wrigley would receive $80 in cash for each share. Mars will also assume less than $1 billion of Wrigley debt.
After the buyout is completed in six to 12 months, Wrigley would become a subsidiary of Mars, based in McLean, Va. Its headquarters will stay in Chicago, where the business has operated since it was founded by the Wrigley family in 1891. The Wrigley family will no longer hold any equity in the company.
Copyright C 2008 Deseret News Publishing Co.
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.
