{"id":4451,"date":"2025-06-26T23:25:16","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T21:25:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/a2kadvisory.com\/?p=4451"},"modified":"2025-06-26T23:36:41","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T21:36:41","slug":"mars-36-billion-kellanova-deal-hit-by-full-scale-eu-probe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/a2kadvisory.com\/fr\/2025\/06\/26\/mars-36-billion-kellanova-deal-hit-by-full-scale-eu-probe\/","title":{"rendered":"Mars\u2019 $36 Billion Kellanova Deal Hit by Full-Scale EU Probe"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Packages of Pringles chips, manufactured by Kellanova. Photographer: Andrey Rudakov\/Bloomberg<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Mars Inc.<\/a>\u2019s $36 billion bid for Pringles chips maker\u00a0Kellanova<\/a>\u00a0faces a potential glitch after\u00a0European Union<\/a>\u00a0opened an in-depth investigation over concerns the largest packaged-food deal in almost a decade could thwart competition.<\/p>

The deal will give Mars \u201cseveral very popular brands of potato chips and cereals to its already broad and strong product portfolio,\u201d the EU\u2019s antitrust chief\u00a0Teresa Ribera\u00a0said in a statement. The probe \u201cwill assess the transaction\u2019s impact on the price of these companies\u2019 products for consumers.\u201d<\/p>

Watchdogs will examine how Mars might increase its bargaining power in discussions with retailers if it absorbs Kellanova\u2019s product line and how this might lead to higher prices at the checkout. Regulators set an initial deadline of Oct. 31 to decide whether to approve the all-cash transaction or block it.<\/p>

Both Mars and Kellanova said that they are \u201coptimistic\u201d that they will ultimately receive approval for the deal. Shares of Kellanova fell 0.7% at 1:35 p.m. in New York.<\/p>

The investigation comes as EU competition enforcement heats up across the consumer-goods markets. Just last year,\u00a0Oreo<\/a>-maker\u00a0Mondelez International Inc.<\/a>\u00a0was fined \u20ac337.5 million ($393 million) for allegedly thwarting cross-border sales of its chocolate, cookies and coffee. More recently, EU regulators have\u00a0dug into<\/a>\u00a0global firms such as\u00a0Coca-Cola Co.<\/a>\u00a0and Pampers diapers maker\u00a0Procter & Gamble Co.<\/a>\u00a0over similar concerns.<\/p>

Buying Kellanova will help closely held Mars diversify its chocolate-heavy portfolio away from cocoa, whose\u00a0prices have risen<\/a>\u00a0to historic levels. Kellanova itself has fared better than most of its competitors with a string of strong earnings since it\u00a0spun off<\/a>\u00a0its cereal business as\u00a0WK Kellogg Co.<\/a><\/p>

Since 2020, McLean, Virginia-based Mars has bought brands like\u00a0Hotel Chocolat<\/a>, Tru Fru and snack bar maker Kind\u2019s North America business. The company\u2019s last major deal was in 2017 when it bought veterinary hospital operator\u00a0VCA Inc.<\/a>\u00a0for about $9 billion.<\/p>

The EU\u2019s in-depth probe into Mars marks Ribera\u2019s second full-scale EU merger investigation since entering office last year, following a probe into Formula 1 owner\u00a0Liberty Media Corp.<\/a>\u2019s $3.8 billion motorcycle racing league MotoGP World Championship. That deal was unconditionally cleared on June 23.<\/p>

So-called phase 2 probes add about 90 working days to EU deal reviews. Regulators typically demand remedies to solve competition concerns but sometimes also decide to give their unconditional approval if initial concerns are shown to be unfounded.<\/p>

Separately, the Federal Trade Commission announced Wednesday evening that it had\u00a0ended its review<\/a>\u00a0of the proposed deal after nearly a year of investigation, concluding that the deal was not anticompetitive.<\/p>

\u201cCommission staff closely reviewed every aspect of this transaction, including both specific product markets and potential portfolio effects from the acquisition,\u201d Daniel Guarnera, the FTC\u2019s director of the Bureau of Competition, said in a statement. \u201cStaff found that the evidence pointed in one direction: This transaction does not meet the standard for an anticompetitive merger.\u201d<\/p>

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Source : bloomberg.com<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Packages of Pringles chips, manufactured by Kellanova. Photographer: Andrey Rudakov\/Bloomberg Mars Inc.\u2019s $36 billion bid for Pringles chips maker\u00a0Kellanova\u00a0faces a potential glitch after\u00a0European Union\u00a0opened an in-depth investigation over concerns the largest packaged-food deal in almost a decade could thwart competition. The deal will give Mars \u201cseveral very popular brands of potato chips and cereals to 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Mars\u2019 $36 Billion Kellanova Deal Hit by Full-Scale EU Probe<\/a><\/blockquote>