Mars to Acquire Kellanova for $35.9B
Adds two new billion-dollar brands to the Mars business.
This new investment builds on more than €1.5 billion Mars has invested in EU manufacturing over the past five years, modernizing facilities, increasing production capacity and accelerating efforts to decarbonize its value chain.
Mars and Kellanova announced Wednesday that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Mars has agreed to acquire Kellanova for $83.50 per share in cash, for a total consideration of $35.9 billion, the largest acquisition of 2024. This represents a premium of approximately 44% to Kellanova’s unaffected 30-trading day volume weighted average price as of August 2.
This transaction will unite two iconic businesses with complementary footprints and portfolios of beloved brands. The addition of Kellanova provides Mars Snacking, which includes billion-dollar snacking and confectionery brands like SNICKERS, M&M’S, TWIX, DOVE and EXTRA, as well as KIND and Nature’s Bakery with entry into new attractive snacking categories.
It will add two new billion-dollar brands – Pringles and Cheez-It – to the Mars business, which today includes 15 billion-dollar brands. It will also expand the Mars health & wellness Snacking portfolio with the addition of new complementary products like RXBAR and NutriGrain to reflect global trends and preferences.
The transaction is anticipated to close within the first half of 2025. Upon completion of the transaction, Kellanova will become part of Mars Snacking, led by Snacking Global President Andrew Clarke.
In 2023, the Kellogg Company spun off its cereal business, and the remaining business was renamed Kellanova. Kellanova had 2023 Net Sales of more than $13 billion, with a presence in 180 markets and approximately 23,000 employees.
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