Sweets group take over salty snack maker. Mars, the confectionary, food and pet-care giant has reached an agreement to acquire Pringles and Pop-tarts maker Kellanova for £28bn ($35.9bn). The US conglomerate famous for M&M’s, Snickers and Skittles agreed to pay $83.50 per share for Kellanova in all-cash transaction and will also take on more than $6bn in net debt. The offer is a premium of more than 69 per cent over where Kellanova’s shares were trading a few months ago. The Mars- Kellanova deal comes amid slowing down on customer spending following years of inflation. Poul Weihrauch, Mars CEO said acquiring Kellanova would bring categories including salty snacks, crackers and cereals into his company’s portfolio. Kellanova has big share of the market in Africa, Latin America expanding Mar’s reach. Kellonova also makes Cheez-it, Rice Krispies Treats and eggo Waffles, was created in 2023 after Kellogg separated its breakfast cereal and snacks business. The division under Mars will be lead by Andrew Clarke, global president of Mars snacking.

Mars is one of the world’s largest family-owned businesses, with an annual sales exceeding $50bn  and a workforce of more than 150, 000, compared to Kellanova’s revenues  of $13bn in 2023.

According to Weihrauch Mars’s 11-member board unanimously backed the deal, which the company intends to finance through combination of cash on hand and new debt it had already secured.

Steve Cahillane, CEO of Kellanova said he did not expect the deal to raise antitrust problems with Federal Trade Commission regulators as  both company don’t sell the same products.