Forbes' richest man in the world, Warren Buffet, has teamed up with M&M's candy maker Mars Inc. to buy the leading chewing gum manufacturer Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. for US$23-billion.
The deal, which was announced yesterday (Apr. 28), creates the world's largest confectionery company. This would give Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. a stake of more than 10% in Wrigley. The Oracle of Omaha's other food holdings include a stake in Kraft Foods Inc.
At US$80 per share, the deal represents a 28% premium over Wrigley's closing stock price of US$62.45 per share on Friday (Apr. 25).
For some trivia, did you know that Buffet was a door-to-door salesman of Wrigley chewing gum during his younger days? According to some write-ups about him, the young Nebraskan kid got his start in business by buying gums and Coca-Cola from his grandfather's grocery store and reselling them for a small profit to his neighbors. Then, seventy years later, here he is owning the very brand he used to sell.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment