Wrigley completes acquisition; Georgia to get gum production

<p>Wm. Wrigley Jr. announced Wednesday it has completed its acquisition of Life Savers and Altoids from Kraft Foods Inc. and plans to shut some factories, lay off about 500 workers and move some production to Georgia as a result of the deal.</p><p>The $1.46 billion cash deal also gives the Chicago-based candy maker several other candy brands, including Creme Savers, Sugus candies and some local and regional brands in the United States, Europe, Indonesia and Thailand.</p><p>Bill Wrigley Jr., Wrigley's chairman and chief executive, said adding the brands "represents a significant reinforcement of our position as a world-class confectionery company."</p><p>For Kraft, the sale unloads confectionary brands that generated just 1.6 percent of its $31 billion in revenue last year.</p><p>Chicago-based Wrigley also said it will close a 94-year-old chewing gum factory on Chicago's South Side and shift production to its plant in Yorkville, which was built in the 1990s.</p><p>Wrigley said the 600 workers at the Chicago plant will either be transferred, offered early retirement or laid off.</p><p>Wrigley said the decision to move production out of Chicago after nearly a century was a difficult one, but stressed the company will maintain its Chicago corporate headquarters and continue to invest in a new research-and-development facility there.</p><p>"We value our deep roots in the city of Chicago, even as our business and our work force continue to change," he said in a statement.</p><p>Wrigley also said it would sell the Trolli gummy candies brand _ part of the Kraft deal _ including a Creston, Iowa, production facility.</p><p>It also plans to wind down production over the next 18 months at a newly acquired Kraft facility in Bridgend, Wales, and transfer gum production from a plant in Edison, N.J., to its largest production facility, in Gainesville, Ga.</p><p>The purchase price of the brands for Wrigley will be offset by about $300 million in cash tax benefits associated with amortization of intangible assets, the company said. The net acquisition cost of $1.18 billion represents 2.4 times estimated 2004 sales.</p><p>Shares of Wrigley fell 80 cents to close at $68.80 in Wednesday trading on the New York Stock Exchange, near its 52-week high of $71.50. Kraft shares fell 21 cents to close at $31.71.</p>

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