SOLD!
The three “R”s. Reading, ‘Righting, and ‘Rigley’s.,
originally uploaded by Hamlet Haoi.
As AndrewsGumWorld has talked about before, Wrigley, the company that makes the Official Gum™ of Gum Guy has now been sold to Mars, as this morning Chicago Tribune reports:
Shareholders of Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. on Thursday approved the sale of the company to Mars Inc., a $23 billion transaction that will end the independence of one of Chicago’s most venerable companies.
The deal is expected to close within two weeks, when Wrigley will become part of privately held Mars, creating the world’s biggest confectionary company. Wrigley, whose shares have been publicly traded since 1923, will remain based in Chicago as a subsidiary of Virginia-based Mars. The combined company will have the Mars name, but Wrigley’s brand and top management are expected to remain in place.
William Wrigley Jr., the company’s chairman, told shareholders that the benefits of the deal “have become even more striking” given what has happened in financial markets since late April, when Mars’ offer was unveiled.
Wrigley shareholders will receive $80 per share, a 28 percent premium over where the stock was trading before the deal was announced. Meanwhile, the Standard & Poor’s 500 has fallen 13 percent in that time.
Wrigley, great-grandson of the man who founded the gum giant in the 1890s, said he expects the deal will close around Oct. 6.