Mondelēz Reportedly Exploring New Offer for Hershey Co.

Dec. 9, 2024

Sources tell Bloomberg that the sweets and snacks company is considering making an offer for the chocolate maker, some eight years after a $23 billion bid was rejected by Hershey.

Andy Hanacek

According to a report from Bloomberg, Mondelēz International Inc. has begun to explore acquiring chocolate maker Hershey Co., some eight years after making a $23 billion bid for the company, which Hershey’s board rejected in 2016.

Such a deal would create a nearly $22 billion U.S. sweets, snacks and chocolate company, pushing it into Food Processing’s top five in its annual Top 100 Processors rankings (going by the 2024 report’s numbers). Globally, sales would hover around $50 billion if the transaction were to happen.

Hershey stock rose significantly in response to the news, although no offer or bid was made, nor was it clear that an offer would be forthcoming. Should Mondelēz make an offer, it would need to be approved by the Hershey Trust Co., which owns almost all of the company’s Class B stock, Bloomberg said, giving it about 80% of the voting power at the company.

About the Author

Andy Hanacek | Senior Editor

Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.