Sweet and salty: M&M's, Snickers maker acquires Cheez-It and Pringles snack company for $36B

M&M's maker Mars is buying Kellanova, the maker of Cheez-Its and Pop-Tarts, for nearly $30 billion, vastly expanding the number of household-name brands under one roof.

Kellanova was created last year when the Kellogg Co. split into two companies. Kellanova sells many of the former company's most profitable brands, including Pringles, Eggo, Town House, MorningStar Farms and Rice Krispies Treats. It had net sales of more than $13 billion last year and has approximately 23,000 employees.

Mars Inc. said Wednesday that it will pay $83.50 per share in cash. The company put the total value of the transaction at $35.9 billion, including debt.

It is the biggest deal in the sector since J.M. Smucker bought Hostess for $5.6 billion last year and among the largest of 2024 behind Exxon Mobil's $60 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources and Capital One Financial's $35 billion acquisition of Discover Financial Services.

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Mars' purchase of Kellanova is expected to close in the first half of next year. Once it's complete, Kellanova will become part of Mars Snacking. Corporate headquarters will remain in Chicago.

Mars, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, is one of the largest privately held companies in the U.S.

"The Kellanova brands significantly expand our snacking platform, allowing us to even more effectively meet consumer needs and drive profitable business growth," Andrew Clarke, global president of Mars Snacking, said in a statement.

Arun Sundaram, an analyst with investment research company CFRA, called the potential combination "a good marriage."

"Mars is known for its innovation and brand-building, while Kellanova has the global reach to bring more Mars products to more markets," Sundaram wrote.

Sundaram expects U.S. antitrust regulators to scrutinize the deal given the current backdrop of high food prices. But he said he believes it will ultimately go through because there is so little overlap between the portfolios of the two companies.

The acquisition would expand Mars' reach into the salty snack category. The company owns brands like Combos and Uncle Ben's, but it's primarily known for its chocolates, candies and pet food. Mars makes M&M's, Lifesavers, Juicy Fruit gum and Skittles as well as Pedigree and Royal Canin pet foods, among other products.

Sales of some of those products, like gum, have sputtered in recent years as snacking habits shift. The deal helps Mars expand into areas of growth.

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Other companies have been adding salty snacks to their lineup in pursuit of changing American tastes. In 2017, candy bar maker Hershey acquired Amplify, the maker of Skinny Pop popcorn, for $1.2 billion. Four years later, Hershey spent another $1.2 billion for Dot's Homestyle Pretzels.

The deal also helps Kellanova at a time when rising prices are squeezing consumers and putting many companies under pressure to put a cap on prices. Economists say that many consumers appear to be returning to pre-pandemic norms, when most companies felt they couldn't raise prices very much without losing business. In the second quarter of this year, Kellanova lowered its prices by 1% in North America.

The other company formed in the Kellogg split, WK Kellogg Co., retained cereal brands like Raisin Bran, Frosted Flakes and Froot Loops, which have struggled with slowing sales in recent years. It is not involved in the deal.

Mars got its start in 1911, when founder Frank Mars started making and selling butter cream candy from his home in Tacoma, Washington. The company moved to Chicago in 1929 and introduced the Snickers bar the following year.

Mars has steadily grown through acquisitions. It entered the pet food business in 1935 with the purchase of a U.K. dog food brand and bought the Dove ice cream brand in 1986. In 2008, it purchased the Wrigley chewing gum business for $23 billion.

Shares of Kellanova rose nearly 8% in morning trading Wednesday.