Mars to Reorganize, Combine Chocolate & Wrigley Segments

MCLEAN, Va. — Mars Inc. will combine its Chocolate and Wrigley segments to create Mars Wrigley Confectionery.

This combination will help deliver greater value to customers and allow the segment to address consumer trends holistically in what is increasingly seen as one global confectionery category, the company said.

Mars Wrigley Confectionery will include major brands in chocolate, including Snickers, M&M's, Dove, Galay, Maltesers and Twix; gum and mints, including Doublemint, Extra, Orbit, 5, Altoids and Lifesavers; and fruity confections, including Skittles and Starburst.

Martin Radvan, currently the global president of Wrigley and a 30-year veteran of Mars Inc., will lead the new entity.

"Mars Wrigley Confectionery brings together two great businesses, strengthening our ability to create win-win relationships with our customers and improving our opportunities to address dynamic retail and consumer trends together," Radvan said.

Since Mars' 2008 acquisition of Wrigley, Berkshire Hathaway has held a minority stake in Wrigley that was subject to purchase by Mars over time. Mars recently accelerated the purchase of Berkshire Hathaway's entire equity interest in Wrigley.

"We are grateful for the strong and productive partnership we have with Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway," said Grant F. Reid, office of the president and CEO of Mars Inc. "It is a great relationship that has yielded value on both sides. We're equally pleased that sole ownership of Wrigley provides us with an opportunity to rethink how we simplify our Chocolate and Wrigley businesses so that we can bring a more holistic approach to this vibrant category."

The Mars Wrigley Confectionery business will have approximately 30,000 associates operating in about 70 countries. The global hub for Mars Wrigley Confectionery will be in Chicago.

Mars Chocolate and Wrigley will continue to operate separately for the time being. Jean-Christophe Flatin will continue to serve as president, Mars Global Chocolate, and Casey Keller, previously regional president of Wrigley Americas, will become president, global Wrigley. The combination is proposed to be phased in during 2017.