The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.This press release is also available in Français (pdf) and Deutsch (pdf).............Vevey, 16 January 2018Nestlé agrees to sell U.S. confectionery business to Ferrero Nestlé today announced that it agreed to sell its U.S. confectionery business to Ferrero for CHF 2.8 billion in cash. Adding the Nestlé business, which had about $900 million in sales in 2016, will make family-owned Ferrero the third-biggest chocolate seller in the U.S. The transaction is expected to close around the end of the first quarter of 2018 following the completion of customary approvals and closing conditions.Nestlé CEO Mark Schneider commented: "With Ferrero we have found an exceptional home for our U.S. confectionery business where it will thrive. “At the same time, this move allows Nestlé to invest and innovate across a range of categories where we see strong future growth and hold leadership positions, such as pet care, bottled water, coffee, frozen meals and infant nutrition.”

The deal covers the US-focused confectionery brands only and does not include Nestlé’s Toll House baking products, a strategic growth brand which the company will continue to develop. "In combination with Ferrero’s existing US presence, including the recently acquired Fannie May Confections Brands and the Ferrara Candy Company, we will have substantially greater scale, a broader offering of high-quality products to customers across the chocolate snack, sugar confectionary and seasonal categories, and exciting new growth opportunities in the world’s largest confectionary market.
In a strategy claimed as "towards healthier products", Nestlé sells its United States confectionery business, number 4 on the market, to Ferrero SpA for $2.8 billion.