Goldman makes £70m windfall in fees from £28bn Pringles sale

Goldman Sachs is set to collect a £70m fee bonanza from the £28bn sale of the owner of Pringles and Pop-Tarts to Mars.

Chocolate giant Mars announced last month that it would buy Kellanova, uniting two of the world’s largest food companies.

The US conglomerate responsible for snacks such as Snickers and Skittles will pay 64.96 pounds per share.

The proposed £28bn deal is the largest ever acquisition in the packaged food industry and the biggest acquisition of 2024 so far.

The mega-merger will also mean a massive windfall for bankers.

Goldman Sachs will earn £70.5m for advising Kellanova. Lazard, which also works with Kellanova, will earn £7.7m. Both fees are contingent on the deal being completed.

The merger is a boost for banks amid a significant slowdown over the past two years.

Fees have generally been lower, even for high-value trades, but the Kellanova-Mars deal is costly, even for Goldman Sachs.

The US group was paid around £35m last year for work related to Exxon Mobil’s £50bn deal to buy Pioneer.

Mars is the world’s largest pet food manufacturer and a major operator of veterinary clinics. It remains owned by its founding family, who are very secretive about the exact figures.

Annual sales are around £38 billion.

Kellanova emerged when Kellogg’s split into three brands last year. Brands include Carr’s and Pringles.