“Nestlé’s US confectionary business generated sales of approximately $900 million in 2016,” Ferrerro stated in a press release on 16 January.

In addition to manufacturing facilities, “Ferrero will acquire more than 20 American brands”, including Butterfinger, BabyRuth and Nerds. Ferrero already markets several brands in the US, such as Tic Tac breath mints, Ferrero Rocher chocolates and Nutella spread.

“With this transaction, Ferrero will become the third-largest confectionary company in the US,” according to the company.

Founded in Italy in 1946, today Ferrero has “global sales of over $12 billion, distribution across over 170 countries, and a workforce of more than 30,000 people across 55 countries.”

Ferrerro noted that the transaction is subject to regulatory review, “and is expected to close around the end of the first quarter of 2018.”