April 28, 2008 1:41 PM

Simpson, Skadden on Mars-Wrigley $23 Billion Deal

Posted by Brian Baxter

UPDATE: This post was updated with new information on April 30 at 4:30 p.m.

It's unquestionably a sweet deal, and one that when final will result in the world's biggest confectionery company. Today, chocolate giant Mars, Incorporated, announced that it will acquire chewing gum maker Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company for $23 billion in cash.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett M&A partners John Finley and Kathryn Sudol and associates Christopher May and Rhett Van Syoc in New York handled the negotiations for McLean, Va.-based Mars, the world's largest chocolate seller, famous for its Snickers and M&M brands.

Wrigley's legal team at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom consists of M&A partners William Kunkel and L. Byron Vance III and finance partner Lynn McGovern, all in Chicago, as well as antitrust partner Clifford Aronson in New York, executive compensation and ERISA partner Michael Lawson in Los Angeles, and litigation partner Edward Welch in Wilmington. Brussels-based partner James Venit advised on European antitrust issues.

Controlling interest in both companies is owned by the families that founded them. The purchase is expected to take six to 12 months; Wrigley, known for its Big Red, Doublemint, and Orbit gum brands, will become a subsidiary of the chocolate maker.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway will purchase a minority interest in the new Wrigley subsidiary and provide an additional $4.4 billion to help fund the transaction. Longtime outside counsel Munger, Tolles & Olson will advise Buffett's Omaha-based holding company on the deal's closing. (Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman Charles Munger is a founding partner of the firm, which he is no longer formally affiliated with.)

Corporate partners Mary Ann Todd and Robert Denham in Los Angeles are colead outside counsel on the deal for Berkshire Hathaway.

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