PepsiCo Buys Brazilian Cookie-Maker Mabel to Boost Snacks Unit

PepsiCo Inc., the world’s largest snack company, bought cookie and cracker maker Grupo Mabel in Brazil for an undisclosed price to strengthen sales in Latin America’s emerging markets.

The acquisition boosts PepsiCo’s Brazilian workforce to 12,000 and its food and beverage plants there to 19, the Purchase, New York-based company said today in a statement. The price may be 800 million reais ($450 million), a person with direct knowledge of the deal said yesterday.

PepsiCo Chief Executive Officer Indra Nooyi has closed or announced acquisitions in Russia, China and Argentina this year and during her tenure has formed joint ventures in emerging markets of Latin America, Asia and India to accelerate growth.

“Brazil is an extremely important market for PepsiCo and this acquisition well positions us in a key segment in the snack category there,” John Compton, chief executive officer of PepsiCo’s foods and snack business in the Americas, said in the statement.

PepsiCo rose 0.5 percent to $62.59 at 9:48 a.m. in New York. The shares had dropped 4.7 percent this year before today.

To contact the reporter on this story: Duane D. Stanford in Atlanta at dstanford2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Robin Ajello at rajello@bloomberg.net