Bojovic & Partners has provided local merger clearance assistance to Nestle with regards to the USD 2.8 billion cash sale of its US confectionary business to Ferrero. Davis Polk and Wardwell served as advisors to Ferrero.
According to a Ferrero press release, "with this transaction, Ferrero will become the third-largest confectionary company in the U.S. market, where it is best known for Tic Tac breath mints, Ferrero Rocher pralines, Nutella hazelnut spreads, the Fannie May and Harry London chocolate brands, and the Ferrara Candy Company, which was recently acquired by a Ferrero-affiliated company and whose portfolio of brands includes Trolli, Brach’s, and Black Forest Gummies."
In that press release, Giovanni Ferrero, Executive Chairman of the Ferrero Group, said: “We are very excited about the acquisition of Nestle’s U.S. confectionery business, which has an outstanding portfolio of iconic brands with rich histories and tremendous awareness. In combination with Ferrero’s existing U.S. presence, including the recently acquired Fannie May Confections Brands and the Ferrara Candy Company, we will have 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 covers the US-focused confectionery brands only, and does not include Nestle’s iconic Toll House baking products, a strategic growth brand, which the company will continue to develop.
According to Bojovic & Partners, “Nestle remains fully committed to growing its leading international confectionery activities around the world, particularly its global brand KitKat.” The firm's team was led by Partner Uros Popovic.
