Philip Morris Cos. said Friday it would acquire Swiss coffee and candy conglomerate Jacobs Suchard AG in a $3.8 billion deal creating the third-largest food company in Europe.
The combined company, linking Suchard with Philip Morris' Kraft General Foods International unit, would have annual revenues of $6.7 billion and a broad reach across the growing European consumer market. Only Nestle SA and Unilever NV would be larger."Geographically, it's a very attractive proposition," said Michael A. Miles, president and chief executive of Kraft General Foods.
Suchard's best-known brands are Tobler, Milka, Cote d'Or and Suchard chocolates, the triangle-boxed Toblerone chocolate-nougat confection and Night and Day coffee. Suchard is the world's largest candy maker behind Mars Inc. and Nestle SA.
Philip Morris, with 157,000 employees worldwide, makes Maxwell House coffee, Miller beer, Jello-O, Oscar Mayer processed meats and Kraft cheeses, mayonnaise and salad dressings, and has 7.5 percent of the world cigarette market.