Wrigley shareholders agree to sale

CHICAGO, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. shareholders in Chicago agreed to a sale of the company to privately owned Mars Inc., of Virginia for $23 billion, the company said.

Wrigley, which has been publicly traded since 1923, will remain in Chicago and expects to maintain its current management, the Chicago Tribune reported Friday.

William Wrigley Jr., great-grandson of the company's founder, said "the financing is very much in place and we feel we have the right institutions involved to make sure this moves forward."

Goldman Sachs has set aside $5.7 billion in debt to help fund the transaction and Berkshire Hathaway has contributed another $4.4 billion in subordinated debt, the Tribune reported. Mars' $11 billion cash contribution is also backed by JP Morgan Chase & Co. debt, the Tribune said.

"The financial markets are in turmoil but I don't think the funding for the deal is at risk," Jon Andersen, a stock analyst at William Blair & Co. told the Tribune.