Ferrero plans to buy century-old cereal maker WK Kellogg for $3 billion

Published

2 months ago

July 10, 2025

Italian confectioner Ferrero, known for brands like Nutella and Kinder, is buying the century-old U.S. cereal company WK Kellogg in an effort to expand its North American sales.

The Ferrero Group said Thursday it will pay $23 for each Kellogg share, or approximately $3.1 billion. The transaction includes WK Kellogg Co.’s six manufacturing plants and the marketing and distribution of its breakfast cereals across the United States, Canada and the Caribbean.

WK Kellogg’s shares were up 31% in mid-afternoon trading on Thursday.

Kellogg was founded in Battle Creek, Michigan, in 1906 after its founder accidentally figured out how to make flaked cereal while he was experimenting with granola. Kellogg still makes Corn Flakes, as well as Froot Loops, Special K, Frosted Flakes, Rice Krispies and other cereals.

Kellogg now has four U.S. plants, which are located in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Nebraska. It also has a plant in Mexico and a plant in Canada. The company has around 3,000 employees.

The current company was formed in 2023, when Kellogg snack brands like Cheez-Its and Pringles were spun into a separate company called Kellanova. M&M’s maker Mars Inc. announced last year that it planned to buy Kellanova in a deal worth nearly $30 billion.

Ferrero Group, a privately held, family-owned company founded in Italy in 1946, has been trying to expand its U.S. footprint. In 2018 it bought Nestle’s U.S. candy brands, including Butterfinger, Nerds and SweeTarts. In 2022, it bought Wells Enterprises, the maker of ice cream brands like Blue Bunny and Halo Top.

“Over recent years, Ferrero has expanded its presence in North America, bringing together our well-known brands from around the world with local jewels rooted in the U.S. Today’s news is a key milestone in that journey, giving us confidence in the opportunities ahead,” Ferrero Executive Chairman Giovanni Ferrero said in a statement.

Gary Pilnick, WK Kellogg’s chairman and CEO, said the combination would give Kellogg resources to grow its brands and “explore opportunities beyond cereal.” Pilnick also said that Ferrero has a track record of supporting the communities in which it operates.

Kellogg has been struggling with a long-term decline in U.S. cereal consumption as consumers turned to protein bars, shakes and other breakfast items. Cereal sales got a bump during the coronavirus pandemic as more families stayed home, but sales continued to decline after the pandemic eased.

At the start of July, U.S. cold cereal sales were down 6% compared to the same period in 2022, according to market research company Nielsen IQ. Kellogg’s net sales fell 2% to $2.7 billion in 2024.

Brad Haller, a senior partner for mergers and acquisitions at West Monroe, said Kellogg’s large distribution network and relationships with grocery chains in North America is appealing to Ferrero because it would help the European company negotiate pricing and positioning for its products.

The purchase also helps Ferraro expand beyond snacks, chocolate and sweets and into a meal category, Haller said. But the company also may wind up cutting Kellogg brands or shutting down manufacturing plants, he said.

“As Americans, these brands are iconic and beloved by us, but a European company buying these wouldn’t have the same nostalgia,” Haller said.

Kellogg has had other issues. A nearly three-month strike by workers at all its U.S. cereal plants in late 2021 hurt sales. And last fall, dozens of people rallied outside the company’s Battle Creek headquarters demanding that Kellogg remove artificial dyes from its cereals.

Earlier this year, Kellogg said it was reformulating cereals sold to schools to remove artificial dyes and will not include them in any new products starting in January.

Ferrero’s acquisition, which still needs approval from Kellogg shareholders, is expected to close in the second half of the year. Once the transaction is complete, Kellogg’s stock will no longer trade on the New York Stock Exchange and the company will become a Ferrero subsidiary.

Source link

Up Next

Trump budget chief says Fed Chair Powell mismanaged central bank

Don't Miss

Wimbledon women’s semifinal results: Iga Świątek dominates, Amanda Anisimova advances to final with win over Aryna Sabalenka

Dee-Ann Durbin

Click to comment

Why being cautious investors in September may be justified

Published

3 hours ago

September 2, 2025

Ganesh Rao

Source link

Powerball Jackpot Hits $1.3 Billion—Here’s What The Winner Could Take Home

Published

3 hours ago

September 2, 2025

Siladitya Ray

Topline

The Powerball jackpot shot up to $1.3 billion—the biggest lottery prize since April 2024—after no tickets matched all six numbers drawn on Monday night, although the eventual winner will likely take home a much smaller payout after paying their taxes.

The Powerball jackpot surged to $1.3 billion as no winners emerged after Monday night’s drawing.

Getty Images

Key Facts

The six numbers drawn on Monday night were 8, 23, 25, 40, 53, and red Powerball 5.

If a winner emerges in the next draw, they can choose between taking the $1.3 billion prize spread over 30 annualized payments or a one-time lump sum cash payout of $589 million—the preferred choice for most winners.

If the lump sum payment is chosen, the winnings will drop to around $447.6 million after a mandatory federal withholding of 24% is applied.

Depending on their taxable income, the winner could face a federal marginal rate as high as 37%, which would further reduce their winnings to $371 million.

If the winner chooses the installment route, their annual payments of around $43.3 million would drop to $27.3 million if the 37% federal marginal rate is applied.

The winner may also face additional taxes based on their state of residence, as some, such as New York, tax lottery winnings at a rate of 10.9%, while others, including Texas, Florida, and California, don’t.

Big Number

To win the jackpot, a Powerball ticket buyer will have to overcome astronomical odds of 1 in 292.2 million. This is slightly worse than the Mega Millions jackpot, which has odds of 1 in 290.4 million. The Mega Millions used to have even worse odds than the Powerball lottery, but the competition implemented significant changes earlier this year that slightly improved the odds of winning both the jackpot and smaller prizes.

What To Watch For

The next draw for the Powerball jackpot will take place on Wednesday night, and if a winner fails to emerge once again, the jackpot prize will likely eclipse the biggest one of 2024. The next drawing for the Mega Millions lottery is scheduled for Tuesday, and the current jackpot amount stands at $302 million.

Key Background

The eventual winner of the Powerball jackpot will claim the biggest lottery prize of the year so far, beating out the $526.5 million prize won by a Powerball ticket buyer from California in March. They will also take home the largest jackpot since April last year, when a ticket buyer from Oregon won a $1.326 billion prize.

Source link

Landslide in Sudan kills more than 1,000

Published

4 hours ago

September 2, 2025

Samy Magdy

CAIRO (AP) — A landslide wiped out a village in Sudan ’s western region of Darfur, killing an estimated 1,000 people in one of the deadliest natural disasters in the African country’s recent history, a rebel group controlling the area said late Monday.

The tragedy happened Sunday in the village of Tarasin in Central Darfur’s Marrah Mountains after days of heavy rainfall, the Sudan Liberation Movement-Army said in a statement.

“Initial information indicates the death of all village residents, estimated to be more than one thousand people. Only one person survived,” the statement read.

The village was “completely leveled to the ground,” the group said, appealing to the U.N. and international aid groups for help to recover the bodies.

The ruling Sovereign Council in Khartoum mourned “the death of hundreds of innocent residents” in the Marrah Mountains’ landslide. In a statement, it said “all possible capabilities” have been mobilized to support the area.

Footage shared by the Marrah Mountains news outlet showed a flattened area between mountain ranges with a group of people searching the area.

The tragedy came as a devastating civil war has engulfed Sudan after tensions between the country’s military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces exploded into open fighting in April 2023 in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere in the country.

Most of the conflict-stricken Darfur region has become mostly inaccessible for the U.N. and aid groups, given crippling restrictions and fighting between Sudan’s military and the RSF.

Aid group Doctors Without Borders has warned that multiple communities in Darfur, including the Marrah Mountains, have been cut off after more than two years of war and isolation, describing these areas as “a black hole” in Sudan’s humanitarian response.

It said in a July report that people in these communities have been “deprived from adequate assistance and snubbed by aid actors … despite enduring horrid conditions.”

The Sudan Liberation Movement-Army, centered in the Marrah Mountains area, is one of multiple rebel groups active in the Darfur and Kordofan regions. It hasn’t taken sides in the war.

The Marrah Mountains are a rugged volcanic chain extending for 160 kilometers (100 miles) southwest of el-Fasher, an epicenter of fighting between the military and the RSF. The area has turned into a hub for displaced families fleeing fighting in and around el-Fasher.

The conflict in Sudan has killed more than 40,000 people, forced more than 14 million to flee their homes and left some families eating grass in a desperate attempt to survive as famine swept parts of the country.

It has been marked by gross atrocities including ethnically motivated killing and rape, according to the United Nations and rights groups. The International Criminal Court said it was investigating alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The village of Tarasin is located in the central Marrah Mountains, a volcanic area with a height of more than 3,000 meters (9,840 feet) at its summit. A world heritage site, the mountain chain is known for its lower temperature and higher rainfall than surrounding areas, according to UNICEF. It’s located more than 900 kilometers (560 miles) west of the capital city, Khartoum.

Sunday’s landslide was one of the deadliest natural disasters in Sudan’s recent history. Hundreds of people die every year in seasonal rains that run from July to October. Last year’s heavy rainfall caused the collapse of a dam in the eastern Red Sea Province, killing at least 30 people, according to the U.N.

Source link