Mondelez to Sell Trident, Other Gum Brands for $1.35 Billion
Mondelez International Inc.
MDLZ -0.70%
said it has agreed to sell Trident, Dentyne and other gum brands in developed markets for $1.35 billion, part of the food company’s plan to focus on chocolates, cookies and other snacks.
The buyer is Perfetti Van Melle Group, a candy maker known for global brands such as Mentos and Chupa Chups lollipops. Mondelez said the sale price represents a multiple of 15 times current year estimates for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
Demand for many of Mondelez’s snack brands surged during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, as Americans and Europeans turned to Oreo cookies and other snacks while they adjusted to working and learning from home. The gum business, however, was hit hard as the pandemic hampered on-the-go sales.
Chicago-based Mondelez in May outlined a strategy to focus its portfolio on a core group of items, including chocolates, biscuits and baked snacks. At that time, the company’s chief executive,
Dirk Van de Put,
said the company expected to exit businesses in noncore categories, including the company’s gum business in developed markets and its Halls cough-drop business.
Going forward, Mr. Van de Put said the company plans to grow and deepen its portfolio of snacks, pushing into new categories such as “well-being snacks” like those made by paleo chocolate-bar maker Hu Master Holdings. Earlier this year, the company bought energy-bar maker Clif Bar & Co., Greek food company Chipita SA and Mexican confectionary company Ricolino.
“Snacking is here to stay,” Mr. Van de Put said at the company’s investor day in May. He said younger consumers lead the shift toward snacking, and that snack categories have demonstrated more resilience during economic downturns.
In 2021, Mondelez’s gum and candy business contributed about 10% of annual sales, while the biscuits and chocolate businesses made up 47% and 32% of sales, respectively. Mr. Van de Put said in May that the company wants the chocolate and biscuit categories to be responsible for 90% of sales.
The company’s portfolio of biscuit products includes Ritz, Oreo, Triscuit and more, while its chocolate business offers Cadbury and Toblerone, among others.
Mondelez is selling the gum business in the U.S., Canada and Europe. In addition to Trident and Dentyne, it includes brands such as Chiclets, Bubbaloo and Bubblicious. The sale also includes European candy brands Cachou Lajaunie, Negro and La Vosgienne, as well as manufacturing facilities in Rockford, Ill., and Skarbimierz, Poland.
Mondelez said it would continue to operate its gum business outside of the U.S., Canada and Europe, led by its Stride brand in China.
The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2023 and covers the business in the U.S., Canada and Europe, excluding France, where the parties have entered into exclusive arrangements for the sale of the business.
Write to Will Feuer at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
Mondelez International Inc.
MDLZ -0.70%
said it has agreed to sell Trident, Dentyne and other gum brands in developed markets for $1.35 billion, part of the food company’s plan to focus on chocolates, cookies and other snacks.
The buyer is Perfetti Van Melle Group, a candy maker known for global brands such as Mentos and Chupa Chups lollipops. Mondelez said the sale price represents a multiple of 15 times current year estimates for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.
Demand for many of Mondelez’s snack brands surged during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, as Americans and Europeans turned to Oreo cookies and other snacks while they adjusted to working and learning from home. The gum business, however, was hit hard as the pandemic hampered on-the-go sales.
Chicago-based Mondelez in May outlined a strategy to focus its portfolio on a core group of items, including chocolates, biscuits and baked snacks. At that time, the company’s chief executive,
Dirk Van de Put,
said the company expected to exit businesses in noncore categories, including the company’s gum business in developed markets and its Halls cough-drop business.
Going forward, Mr. Van de Put said the company plans to grow and deepen its portfolio of snacks, pushing into new categories such as “well-being snacks” like those made by paleo chocolate-bar maker Hu Master Holdings. Earlier this year, the company bought energy-bar maker Clif Bar & Co., Greek food company Chipita SA and Mexican confectionary company Ricolino.
“Snacking is here to stay,” Mr. Van de Put said at the company’s investor day in May. He said younger consumers lead the shift toward snacking, and that snack categories have demonstrated more resilience during economic downturns.
In 2021, Mondelez’s gum and candy business contributed about 10% of annual sales, while the biscuits and chocolate businesses made up 47% and 32% of sales, respectively. Mr. Van de Put said in May that the company wants the chocolate and biscuit categories to be responsible for 90% of sales.
The company’s portfolio of biscuit products includes Ritz, Oreo, Triscuit and more, while its chocolate business offers Cadbury and Toblerone, among others.
Mondelez is selling the gum business in the U.S., Canada and Europe. In addition to Trident and Dentyne, it includes brands such as Chiclets, Bubbaloo and Bubblicious. The sale also includes European candy brands Cachou Lajaunie, Negro and La Vosgienne, as well as manufacturing facilities in Rockford, Ill., and Skarbimierz, Poland.
Mondelez said it would continue to operate its gum business outside of the U.S., Canada and Europe, led by its Stride brand in China.
The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2023 and covers the business in the U.S., Canada and Europe, excluding France, where the parties have entered into exclusive arrangements for the sale of the business.
Write to Will Feuer at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
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