Mars, the privately held company best known for its confectionary brands like M&M’s and Snickers, announced on Wednesday that it will buy a minority stake in Kind, the maker of wildly popular snack bars.
The deal values Kind at more than $4 billion, according to people briefed on the transaction, marking a significant valuation for one of the most prominent new food brands to hit store shelves in recent years.
The minority investment — which could lead to Mars eventually buying all of Kind in the future, based on its history with similar investments — marks the latest effort by a legacy food giant to follow consumers’ healthier eating habits.
Kind has been one of the fastest-growing players in the snack field, with 2017 sales having risen to $718.9 million, according to Euromonitor. It is now the third-biggest snack bar maker worldwide by market share, the data provider added, coming behind just General Mill’s Nature Valley brand and the Clif Bar line of energy snacks.
Treats advertised as being more healthy have been especially popular, even if the actual benefits are in dispute. Nestlé, for instance, is selling its American candy business amid a drop in demand for products like Crunch bars and Gobstoppers.
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