Philip Morris To Buy Coffee, Chocolate Firm

NEW YORK - Philip Morris Cos. will acquire the Swiss coffee and chocolate giant Jacobs Suchard AG in a deal valued at about $3.8 billion, the companies announced recently.

The combination, which will link Suchard with Philip Morris's Kraft General Foods International unit, will create one of the largest coffee and confectionery companies in the world.

Under the agreement announced in Zurich, Philip Morris will acquire Colima Holding AG, which holds a 60 percent stake in Suchard.

Philip Morris, through Colima, would then launch a cash tender offer for all the publicly traded Suchard shares. Both companies put the total value of the offer at $3.8 billion.