Mars-Kellanova deal receives FTC clearance

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has concluded its antitrust review of Mars’ pending acquisition of Kellanova, clearing another hurdle in the pending acquisition deal. The FTC did not impose conditions or remedies on the deal.

The acquisition still requires regulatory approval from the European Commission. The deal faces new headwinds after the Commission opened an in-depth investigation this week. Of concern to the regulators are the "strong market positions" of the two brands in multiple member states as well as Mars' increased bargaining power should the deal go through.

The $36 billion proposed deal would combine two giants in the food industry. Mars had 2023 net sales of more than $50 billion while Kellanova had 2023 net sales of more than $13 billion.

What they are saying

“The Commission cares deeply about any competition concerns that affect American consumers, including in food products,” said Daniel Guarnera, director of the Bureau of Competition, in a release announcing the conclusion of the FTC review. “After nearly a year of investigation, dozens upon dozens of interviews with non-parties at all levels of the supply chain (including large chains and small, independent businesses), extensive data analysis, sworn testimony from party witnesses and the review of hundreds of thousands of documents, staff found that the evidence pointed in one direction: this transaction does not meet the standard for an anticompetitive merger set by Section 7 of the Clayton Act.”

“In other countries, Mars and Kellanova offer different products than they do in the United States, and they face different market participants, consumer preferences and shopping practices. Notably, Kellanova continues to sell breakfast cereal in other markets, including the European Union, that it does not sell in the United States,” continued Guarnera. “The Trump-Vance FTC takes an America First approach to antitrust enforcement. Our job is to protect competition and consumers in the United States. Our job is to determine whether there is a violation of American law that we can prove in court. And once we’ve concluded there is not, our job is to get out of the way.”

The companies say they expect the transaction to close before the end of the year.

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