Global confectionery giant Mars will acquire Kellanova for $35.9bn in cash, following months of engagement with Benjamin Pass’s activist hedge fund TOMS Capital Investment Management, which took an undisclosed “significant” stake in Kellanova in May.
According to a joint statement, Mars will purchase the Kellogg spin-off company for $83.50 per share. The transaction is expected to close in H1 2025 and will see well-known brands like Pringles and Cheez-Its added to Mars’ existing portfolio.
In 2023, Kellanova, currently led by CEO Steve Cahillane, became an independent entity focusing on snack and plant-based food brands after its parent company Kellogg’s decision to separate it from WK Kellogg Co, which focuses on cereals. Kellanova reported net sales exceeding $13bn that year.
A CNBC source noted that TOMS had privately discussed strategic and organisational changes to improve shareholder returns with Cahillane and Kellanova’s management. Reuters reported that the activist hedge fund is satisfied with the deal price.
TOMS’s previous campaigns include Colgate in 2022, which was in collaboration with Dan Loeb’s New York-based hedge fund Third Point.
