SPOTLIGHT: BIGS GET BIGGER

Each week, we report instances where the money junky hedge funds, private equity groups and the already big companies swallow another piece of the global economy. Here are some more of what the BIGS have been gobbling up and how the Bigs keep getting bigger and the rich keep getting richer.

It should be noted that when interest rates in the U.S. were floating at near zero, merger and acquisition hit an all-time high in 2021. Now with rates rising, M&A activity is slowing down. 

JUNK FOOD GIANT MONDELEZ BUYS CLIF BAR FOR AT LEAST $2.9 BILLION

If you look in your kitchen cabinet right now, there’s a very good chance that you have a few bags open of Mondelez products.

The Chicago-based food giant that earns about $26.58 billion in revenue each year, is behind such products as Chips Ahoy!, Oreo, Ritz crackers, Triscuit, and Trident to name a few.

Mondelez increased its food portfolio after announcing that it will acquire Clif Bar & Co. for at least $2.9 billion. Clif Bars are marketed as a nutrition bar perfect for those sunny Saturday afternoons where you find yourself suspended from a rock face during a free climb.

The deal will include the Clif, Luna, and Clif Kid brands of bars, CNN reported. It will essentially create a “$1 billion-plus global snack bar franchise for itself.”

Sally Grimes, chief executive officer of Clif Bar & Company, said Mondelez is the perfect partner to support her company’s “next chapter of growth.”

“Our purposes and cultures are aligned and being part of a global snacking company with broad product offerings can help us accelerate our growth,” she said.

Mondelez said it will operate Clif from its Emeryville, Calif., headquarters and continue to produce the bars from its facilities in Indiana and Idaho.