In one of the largest food industry deals in the past year, Italian candy and food giant Ferrero announced this week that it would acquire cereal maker WK Kellogg for $3.1 billion.
The massive deal marked the crowning achievement of Giovanni Ferrero, 60, the executive chairman and majority owner of his family's company, who has led a decade-long campaign to evolve the brand beyond European chocolate treats and into a food powerhouse in the U.S.
Giovanni is now worth an estimated $41.2 billion, which currently places him as the 6th richest person in Europe and the 36th wealthiest person on the planet.
With the WK Kellogg deal in place, Ferrero appears more ready than ever to supercharge its growth in the U.S., where the company has already made at least eight acquisitions since 2017. Those deals have brought brands ranging from Famous Amos to Nerds and Butterfinger under Ferrero’s expanding umbrella.
Read more about Ferrero’s dealmaking binge in Giacomo Tognini’s latest story for Forbes here, and keep scrolling below for more great journalism from our newsroom. |
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