Ferrero Buys Nestle Candy Biz

摘要

Nestle SA on Jan. 16 said it will sell its U.S. confectionery business to Italy's Ferrero Group for $2.8 billion in cash. The candy brands have been on the market publicly since last June. The sale relieves Nestle of products that both don't fit its new philosophy of nutrition, health and wellness and have slipped from third to fourth place among U.S. candy brands. The candy business did generate $900 million in U.S. sales in 2016. Adding in Ferrero's small organic penetration of the U.S. market and its late-2017 acquisition of Ferrara Candy Co., this Nestle purchase catapults the Italian confectioner into third place among American candy companies.