Kellogg selling Keebler cookies and related snacks to Ferrero for $1.3 billion

Kellogg announced Monday that it is selling Keebler, Famous Amos and other snack brands for $1.3 billion cash to chocolate confectioner Ferrero. Ferrero is best known in the U.S. as the maker of Nutella.

Known for its cereals, crackers, salty snacks and toaster pastries, Kellogg recorded about $13.5 billion in sales in 2018. Its cookie business, which includes Keebler, Mother's, Famous Amos and Murray's, netted about $900 million last year. Shares of Kellogg fell about 1 percent in morning trading.  

Ferrero, which is headquartered in Alba, Italy, will also get production facilities in Georgia, Kentucky, Washington, and Illinois as part of the deal, meaning the company can expand its North American presence. Ferrero first entered the U.S. with Tic Tac breath mints in 1969.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of July.