The Langhe is the hilly area in Piedmont, northern Italy, mostly known for its wines, cheeses, and truffles, but this amazing land is also the cradle of the Ferrero Group, the third biggest chocolate producer and confectionery company in the world. From there the expansion of Ferrero, which is known all over the world for its Tic Tac® breath mints, Ferrero Rocher® pralines, Nutella® hazelnut spreads, is unstoppable. After the recent acquisition of the Ferrara Candy Company – whose portfolio of brands includes Trolli®, Brach’s® and Black Forest® Gummies -, the confectionery giant announced that it will acquire from Nestlé its US confectionery business becoming the third-largest confectionery company in the American market.
Giovanni Ferrero, Executive Chairman of the Ferrero Group, said, “We are very excited about the acquisition of Nestlé’s US confectionery business, which has an outstanding portfolio of iconic brands with rich histories and tremendous awareness. In combination with Ferrero’s existing US presence, including the recently acquired Fannie May Confections Brands and the Ferrara Candy Company, we will have a substantially greater scale, a broader offering of high-quality products to customers across the chocolate snack, sugar confectionery and seasonal categories, and exciting new growth opportunities in the world’s largest confectionery market. We look forward to welcoming the talented team from Nestlé to Ferrero and to continuing to invest in and grow all of our products and brands in this key strategic and attractive market.”
The transaction is expected to close around the end of the first quarter of 2018, and with it Ferrero will pay $2.8 billion in cash to acquire a business generated sales of approximately $900 million in 2016 with iconic chocolate brands such as Butterfinger®, BabyRuth®, 100Grand®, Raisinets®, Wonka® and the exclusive right to the Crunch® brand for confectionery and certain categories in the US, as well as sugar brands such as SweeTarts®, LaffyTaffy®, and Nerds®.
Ilona Catani Scarlett