Shareholders of Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. have approved the sale of the company to Mars Inc. for $23 billion. The deal is expected to close within two weeks. Wrigley will remain based in Chicago as a
subsidiary of Virginia-based Mars, and its current top management is expected to remain in place. The Mars-Wrigley deal has ignited a wave of speculation in recent months of further consolidation in
the confectionary business. The most recent, which popped up this week in Britain's
Daily Telegraph, has Nestle angling to buy a stake in Hershey.
Cadbury, another big European-based candy player like Nestle, has also been fingered as a suitor for Hershey. Others have speculated that Cadbury would be a target for Kraft Foods.
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