Italian family-owned confectioner Ferrero is in “advanced discussions” to snap up US cereal maker WK Kellogg as soon as this week, according to overnight reports (10 July) in the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal.
Potentially closing this week, the deal would bring WK Kellogg – separated from the former parent group’s international and snacking operation, which was renamed Kellanova, in 2023 – into the fold with Ferrero’s portfolio of brands including Ferrero Rocher, Tic Tac and Kinder.
WK Kellogg’s stock leapt 56.5% in extended trading in New York after the reports surfaced.
WK Kellogg has struggled since the spin-off, with organic net sales dipping 2% in results to December 2024, and reported net income down 34.5% on 2023, forecasting another contraction of 1% for 2025. Its Q1 2025 results, however, saw net sales drop 6.2% year on year, forcing it to lower its guidance to sales growth of negative 2%-3% over 2025.
Gary Pilnick, WK Kellogg’s chairman, said at the time the sector had seen an increasing focus on health and nutrition, a “positive development for the category”, which the company’s portfolio was “well positioned to meet”.
The focus on healthy diets has been intensified by political pressure, including from Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US’ top health official, who has targeted ultra-processed foods as a source of chronic ill health in the country.
North America represents 40% of all breakfast cereal revenues worldwide, according to Grand View Research data, with largest growth areas in organic and high-fibre cereals – reflecting the global trend.
In 2019, Ferrero acquired Kellogg’s US cookie, fruit snacks, ice Cream cone and pie crust business in a $1.3bn deal that gave it established brands like Keebler, Famous Amos, and Mother’s, in a move it said strengthened its position in the US market following other US purchases.
Ferrero’s global operations brought in €18.4bn in revenue in the year to August 2024.
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