Warren Buffett's stake helps Mars take over Wrigley

Warren Buffett took advantage of the credit crunch yesterday as Mars announcedan agreed $23 billion (£11.5 billion) takeover of Wrigley in a deal that theworld’s richest man helped to finance in return for a cut-price stake in thechewing gum group.

Mr Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway investment vehicle, which has $40 billion ofcash to spend at a time when deal financing has largely dried up, hascontributed $4.4 billion of the funds Mars needed to purchase the world’sbiggest chewing gum company.