Mondelez's Acquisition Spree Continues With Give & Go's Deal

Mondelez International, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:MDLZ) strategic acquisitions have been an integral part of its growth strategy. Recently, the company has inked a deal to buy majority interest in a North America-based company — Give &Go. Being a pioneer in fully-finished sweet baked goods, Give & Go offers brownies, cupcakes, pastries and muffins as well as owns well-known brands like two-bite and Create-A-Treat.

The inclusion of the above-mentioned products and brands is likely to strengthen Mondelez’s portfolio, which already includes global and local brands — Oreo, Cadbury, Milka and belVita along with Tate’s and Perfect Snacks. Moreover, Give & Go’s fast-growing in-store bakery channel is likely to help Mondelez further expand its snacking business.

Per the deal, the to-be-acquired company will operate as a separate business from its existing headquarters in Toronto, Ontario. Moreover, Mondelez will provide customer and channel insights along with procurement and marketing resources to aid growth. As of now, the deal is subject to customary closing conditions and likely to be concluded in the second quarter of 2020. Financial details of the transaction have been kept under wraps.

Speaking of prior developments to bolster presence in the snacks arena, the company acquired minority stake in Perfect Snacks in July 2019. Perfect Snacks is a leader in the fast-growing refrigerated nutrition bars space, which offers original refrigerated protein bar as well as organic, non-GMO, nut-butter-based protein bars and bites. In April 2019, Mondelez invested in Hu Master Holdings — a renowned company offering high-quality snacking items. By collaborating with Hu Master, the company expects to make wellness-oriented snacks.

Apart from these, Mondelez acquired premium cookie brand Tate’s Bake Shop for $500 million in June 2018. In the same year, the company launched an innovation hub, SnackFutures, under which it plans to continue innovating products. In January 2018, the company teamed with Post Consumer Brands, a business unit of Post Holdings (NYSE:POST) , to create two new cookie-inspired breakfast cereals. Going ahead, Mondelez plans to offer more good-for-you snacks and expects 50% of its product portfolio to comprise “well-being” items by 2020.

Backed by such well-chalked moves, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock has rallied 23.4% in the past year compared with the industry’s growth of 14.3%.

Don’t Miss These Solid Consumer Staple Stocks

Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) , which carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), has a long-term earnings growth rate of 7.7 %. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) , which carries a Zacks Rank #2, has a long-term earnings growth rate of 7.4%.

Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2020

In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest buy-and-hold tickers for the entirety of 2020?

Last year's 2019 Zacks Top 10 Stocks portfolio returned gains as high as +102.7%. Now a brand-new portfolio has been handpicked from over 4,000 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. Don’t miss your chance to get in on these long-term buys.

Access Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2020 today >>