Nestle was founded in 1866 in Vevey, Switzerland by Henri Nestle. Nestle became a major stakeholder in the chocolate market, most well known for products such as Kit Kat, Crunch, and Butterfinger. They were the first to incorporate milk into the chocolate-making process. Through the years, they acquired many companies including Rowantree, PowerBar, and Ralston Purina entering them to into the confectionery, snack, and pet food markets respectfully. By 2002, their annual revenues were $50 billion and they had established an AAA credit rating. Their high credit rating and high capital what made them a great threat to Cadbury Schweppes in the bidding for Adams. At first, Nestle was only interested in purchasing Halls from Pfizer, but after Pfizer turned down a proposal to split the company into gum products and Halls, Nestle decided to bid on the entire company. For Cadbury Schweppes to be a contender against Nestle’s significant capital they had to move quickly, presenting an attractive bid that would be accepted before Nestle could counter.
Wrigley was founded in 1891 by William Wrigley, Jr. and quickly grew into the largest chewing gum company in the United States with well known products such as Juicy Fruit and Wrigley’s Spearmint. In 2002, they operated 15 companies around the world and sold their products to 150 countries. Nearly all the company’s annual $2 billion revenue came from chewing gum which had steadily been gaining market shares from Adams and Hershey. When Adams went up for sale, Wrigley was not limited by capital, however they faced antitrust issues. In the US and Canada, Wrigley would have been forced to have a financial partner, but they only wanted Adams’ Latin American business. Wrigley did not want Adams to be acquired by Cadbury Schweppes since it would give them a strong market presence, but Wrigley struggled to find a way around the antitrust issues.
Hershey, founded in Pennsylvania, entered the chocolate market by purchasing chocolate...