Wrigley's sale to Mars for $23 Billion approve by shareholders

Wrigley's sale to Mars for $23 Billion approve by shareholders

Wrigley’s sale to Mars for $23 Billion approve by shareholders

Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. shareholders Thursday agreed to sell the 117-year-old Chicago institution to Mars Inc.

In a special morning meeting at Chase Auditorium, they approved the $23 billion deal that makes Wrigley a separate, stand-alone business unit of privately held Mars, which will become the world's largest candy company.

The transaction, which has regulatory approval and is expected to close by Oct. 6, gives Wrigley stockholders $80 per share.

The agreement gives Mars a 14.4 percent share of the global confectionery market. Worldwide sales will be more than $27 billion annually.

Mars owns Snickers, M&M's and Starburst brands. Wrigley sells Juicy Fruit, Orbit and Five gum, Altoids mints and Life Savers candy. The combined company displaces Cadbury, which has about 10 percent of the candy market, as the biggest player worldwide.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc., which committed $6.5 billion to help finance the acquisition on top of a Tuesday infusion of $5 billion into investment bank Goldman Sachs, will get a $2.1 billion stake in Wrigley.

When announcing the move in April, William Wrigley Jr., executive chairman, said Wrigley's management -- including CEO William Perez -- would stay in place.

But Wrigley Jr. would get $19.7 million if he leaves the company one year after the sale. He was paid $8.6 million last year when sales at Wrigley increased 15 percent to $5.4 billion and net earnings rose 19 percent to $632 million.

The exchange takes the company private, beyond the demands of Wall Street.

"We are maintaining the soul and values of the company in a way that we will be able to keep people first on the list," said Wrigley, whose great-grandfather founded the company in 1891.

Mars, operated out of New Jersey, is family-run and offers a form of safety, he said.

"There's great risks in anything," Wrigley said. "It's easy to sit here and say we should just keep going as we have, and a lot of people don't realize there's high risk out there."

Wrigley on Thursday reiterated intentions for the company to remain involved in business and cultural initiatives in Chicago to about 250 shareholders at the meeting. Of those who spoke, most were complimentary of the company.

Wrigley announced this week that it sold game Web site Candy stand.com to Funtank LLC last month. Funtank's sister company, WDDG Inc., has managed the 11-year-old site since Wrigley acquired it in 2005.