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Health-conscious Nestle sells US candy to Ferrero for US$2.8 billion

Reuters Published on Wed, Jan 17, 2018 / 8:20 AM GMT+8

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LONDON/MILAN (Jan 17): Swiss food group Nestle has agreed to sell its US confectionery business to Italy’s Ferrero for US$2.8 billion ($3.7 billion), it said on Tuesday, marking CEO Mark Schneider’s first big sale and a small step on its path towards healthier products.

Nestle, the world’s biggest packaged-food company, has cited the unit’s weak position in the United States, where it trails Hershey, Mars Inc and Lindt, as the rationale for a sale.

For family-owned Ferrero, the cash deal offers a chance for the Italian company to build scale quickly in that key market, where it has done two other deals in the past year.