Italian confectionery giant Ferrero Group, best known for brands like Nutella and Kinder, has announced it will acquire WK Kellogg Co in a landmark deal worth $3.1 billion.
The agreement, unanimously approved by WK Kellogg’s board, is slated to close in the second half of 2025, pending shareholder and regulatory approval.
Ferrero’s Executive Chairman, Giovanni Ferrero, hailed the acquisition as a merging of legacies: “I am thrilled to welcome WK Kellogg Co to the Ferrero Group. This is more than just an acquisition – it represents the coming together of two companies, each with a proud legacy and generations of loyal consumers.”
He emphasised the company’s ambition to “bring together our well-known brands from around the world.”
Ferrero, a privately held, family-owned company founded in Italy in 1946, has steadily expanded its U.S. footprint, including its 2018 purchase of Nestlé’s U.S. confectionery business and several regional candy brands.
WK Kellogg, founded in Michigan in 1906, was spun off from the original Kellogg Company in 2023 as part of a strategic split separating its North American cereal business from the global snacks division. It makes household staples like Corn Flakes, Special K, Rice Krispies and other cereals.
WK Kellogg CEO Gary Pilnick said: “We believe this proposed transaction maximises value for our shareholders… joining Ferrero will provide WK Kellogg Co with greater resources and more flexibility to grow our iconic brands in this competitive and dynamic market.”
The announcement prompted a 31% surge in WK Kellogg shares, marking Ferrero’s largest acquisition since 2018. Analysts say the move underlines Ferrero’s aim to diversify beyond confectionery, leveraging Kellogg’s under-pressure cereal brands at a time when traditional breakfast categories face market headwinds.
As Ferrero integrates Kellogg’s North American operations, including six cereal plants and an extensive distribution network, both companies appear poised to reposition for growth in an evolving consumer landscape – with breakfast and snacks increasingly converging under one roof.
