Wrigley releases details of merger with Mars

CHICAGO Wrigley Jr. Co. has revealed some of the details of a possible merger with Mars in preliminary paperwork filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A proxy filed last week said that if Wrigley backs out of the $23 biillion deal, it now would have to pay Mars $690 million. On the other hand, if Mars pulls out it must pay $1 billion to Wrigley.

Mars raised its per share bid after Wrigley said the initial offer of $76 per share was too low. On April 17, Mars raised the bid to $77 per share, but later made a final offer of $80 per share. Wrigley accepted and a merger agreement was announced April 28.

Reports said that a recent meeting between Wrigley chairman, William Wrigley Jr., Mars president, Paul S. Michaels, and Mars chief financial officer, Olivier C. Goudet, went smoothly.

“Michaels and Goudet also said that this was a friendly proposal to be discussed on an exclusive basis and that Mars would withdraw its proposal if the board of directors of the company was not interested in pursuing the combination or if the company wanted to conduct any type of auction process,” the statement said.

Other details of the change include Mars’ plans to transfer Skittles and Starburst brands to Wrigley. The company has said that it believes Skittles and Starburst would benefit from the confectioner’s “sugar” line, rather than staying in Mars’ chocolate-heavy lineup.