Snap, crackle, sale: Ferrero buying Kellogg's for $3 billion

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 Kellogg'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.

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.


(AP Photo Gene J. Puskar)