🎉 Kellanova + Mars = What Now?

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If the (year’s biggest) deal closes, Mars’ $35.9 billion acquisition of Kellanova would bring together legacy snacking and confectionery brands including Pringles, Cheez-It, Pop-Tarts, Rice Krispies Treats, Snickers, M&M’s, Twix, Dove and others. It is a portfolio of businesses that, together, represents more than $63 billion in sales. 

So, what happens now?

• Analysts believe the transaction is likely to pass regulatory hurdles due to the minimal overlap of product categories. 
• An analyst for Jefferies suggested the deal would raise competitive levels for other large food players
• Over at AllianceBernstein an analyst said the merger could spur more consolidation in the packaged food sector. 

A California U.S. District Court has dismissed a securities fraud lawsuit against Beyond Meat. The plaintiffs accused the plant-based meat maker of deceiving its investors by inflating its expectations to meet the demand in some of its QSR foodservice accounts. 

📝 The suit was filed in May 2023 and contends that Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown and the leadership team knew it had not scaled its production adequately and should have warned investors of production delays.

👨🏼‍⚖️ U.S. District Judge Michael Fitzgerald dismissed the case on Friday saying that many of the misstatements do not constitute securities fraud but were rather just overly optimistic forward-looking opinions.

🏛️ Judge Fitzgerald did grant the plaintiffs a chance to amend some of the allegations with more evidence or additional information to better meet the standards of the suit.

❌ Additionally, the judge dismissed other claims alleging that two former Beyond CFOs were guilty of insider trading during a period when prices were artificially inflated.

Go Deeper: Beyond's Q2 Revenue Down, Margins Up

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