Consumer staples exchange traded funds led U.S. sectors Thursday after Mondelez International (NasdaqGS: MDLZ), the company behind Oreo cookies and Cadbury chocolates, made a takeover bid for confectionery firm Hershey Co. (NYSE: HSY).
Leading the charge on Thursday, Guggenheim S&P Equal Weight Consumer Staples ETF (NYSEArca: RHS) jumped 2.6%, PowerShares Dynamic Food & Beverage Portfolio (NYSEArca: PBJ) increased 2.8%, First Trust Consumer Staples AlphaDEX Fund (NYSEArca: FXG) gained 2.4%, PowerShares DWA Consumer Staples Momentum Portfolio (NYSEArca: PSL) rose 2.2% and Consumer Staples Select SPDR (NYSEArca: XLP) advanced 2.0%.
The consumer staples sector was outperforming Thursday after Mondelez sought to acquire Hershey, potentially making Mondelez the world’s largest confectionery, the Wall Street Journal reports. Mondelez proposed the tie-up at $107 a share.
HSY shares surged 15.2% to $111.9 on the bid while MDLZ shares gained 4.5%.
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HSY makes up 2.8% of RHS and 0.8% of XLP. MDLZ makes up 2.6% of RHS, 4.7% of PBJ, 5.0% of FXG and 3.3% of XLP.
[related_stories]The Hershey acquisition would allow Mondelez to tap into North American markets where Hershey generated almost 90% of its revenue last year.
“From a geographic perspective, the move makes sense,” Jack Skelly, an analyst at Euromonitor, told Bloomberg. “Mondelez has achieved its position as the second-largest confectionery manufacturer in the world without any sizable presence in the U.S.”
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However, the deal is not set in stone as it would require the approval of the Hershey Trust, which holds 8.4% of the company’s stock and 81% of its voting power. The Trust has also opposed selling the company in the past.
The deal would create the world’s biggest candy-making company as the second- and fifth-largest players combine forces, according to Euromonitor.
For more information on the consumer sector, visit our consumer staples category.
Guggenheim S&P Equal Weight Consumer Staples ETF