Candy and snack company Mondelz International announced on Monday that it is selling its US, Canadian and European chewing gum operations to Perfetti Van Melle Group for $1.35 billion.
Chicago-based Mondelez said the deal includes the Trident, Bublicius, Dentine and Chiclites gum brands and European candy brands Cachou Lajaunie and La Vosgienne.
Perfetti – a privately held company that produces Mentos Mints and Chupa Chups lollipops, among other products – will acquire Mondelz manufacturing facilities in Rockford, Illinois and Skarbymierz, Poland.
The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Mondelez said it will continue to produce chewing gum in other regions, including Latin America and Asia. But the sale puts the company closer to its goal of moving more resources into chocolate, biscuits and baked snack products, where it sees the biggest growth opportunities. Mondelez owns the Cadbury and Toblerone chocolate brands, as well as Oreo and Chips Ahoy cookies, Triscut crackers and Perfect Snacks nutrition bars.
Mondelez today earns 80% of its revenue from chocolate and biscuits. It wants to increase it to 90% by 2030.
U.S. gum and mint sales to grow 3.8 percent in 2021, according to the National Confectioners Association. But that growth was driven by a 9.2 percent increase in chocolate sales, and a 14.5 percent increase in non-chocolate candy sales.
