(Reuters) -Hershey Co has agreed to buy pretzel makers Dot’s Pretzels Llc, the owner of Dot’s Homestyle Pretzels, and Pretzels Inc in two deals for about $1.2 billion, the company said on Wednesday, as it beefs up its snacking portfolio.
Packaged food makers have been spending billions of dollars to boost their snacking businesses and keep sales growth levels high after the pandemic helped them book outsized gains from people mainly staying at home.
Net sales at the two pretzel businesses were about $275 million for the 12 months ended September, Hershey said.
It added the deals, expected to close by the end of this year, would marginally add to the company’s reported earnings in 2023.
Hershey already makes Reese’s Peanut Butter cups and SkinnyPop Popcorn.
(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
