Buffett and Mars Chomp on Wrigley Co.

On Monday, candy outfit Mars and billionaire Warren Buffett confirmed their joint bid for William Wrigley Jr. Co. (nyse: WWY - news - people ). The all-cash offer to buy the gum maker is for $80 per share, or $23.0 billion. Wrigley shares added 24.0%, or $14.95, in premarket trading in New York.

The offer represents a premium of 28.0% to Wrigley's Friday closing price of $62.45. The deal is expected to be concluded in the next six to 12 months.

Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (nyse: BRKA - news - people ) will provide financing for the deal, and Mars will manage the newly bought company. Privately owned Mars's brands include Snickers, M&Ms, Starburst and Twix.

Breath-sweetening Wrigley has its iconic Doublemint gum, as well as Altoids, Extra and Eclipse. Unlike most other food processors, though, Wrigley's costs aren't increasing substantially. It does not use much in the way of agricultural commodities whose prices are jumping, like wheat, corn, soybean oil and dairy.

Rising commodity prices reacting with this confectionery combination could heat up previously proposed candy company mergers. London-based Cadbury Schweppes (nyse: CSG - news - people ) and U.S. chocolate company Hershey (nyse: HSY - news - people ) had discussed the possibility of joining forces. Hershey, already a distributor of Cadbury in the United States, has performed weakly in Europe, where the London-based Cadbury is strongest. (See: "Cadbury Reportedly Flirts With Hershey")

Billionaire Buffett has been on a buying spree in the midst of the current downturn. (See: "Buffett: Recession? Yes. Opportunity? Yes") He bought a chunk of reinsurer Swiss Re, food manufacturer Kraft (nyse: KFT - news - people ) and pharmeceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (nyse: GSK - news - people ). (See: "Buffett Takes A Big Bite Of Kraft, Glaxo")