Ferrero nears about $3 billion deal for WK Kellogg, WSJ reports
Shares of WK Kellogg, the company behind Froot Loops and Frosted Flakes, surged about 51% after the bell.
Ferrero could finalize the deal as soon as this week, the report, opens new tab said.
The companies did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
WK Kellogg was formed after Kellogg spun off its North American cereal business into a separate publicly traded company about two years ago. The remaining global snacking business is called Kellanova (K.N), opens new tab.
In June, Snickers owner Mars' $36 billion takeover deal for Kellanova received the U.S. antitrust approval.
Both WK Kellogg and Kellanova have been grappling with tepid demand amid challenging market conditions.
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
The Wolseley's global takeover is thriving. Investors and Keir Starmer should take note
There was consternation among London restaurant -goers when their favourite venue, owned by their favourite restaurateur, was acquired three years ago by a Thai-based group. It was feared The Wolseley, adored by many, including Lucian Freud (whose regular corner table was covered with a black cloth and a single candle following his death) and AA Gill, would be no more. It would not be the same without Jeremy King, its co-founder, greeting regulars and attending to every last detail. But fears The Wolseley would lose its cachet have proved groundless. The restaurant and its siblings, including The Delaunay, Colbert and Brasserie Zedel, plus a new Wolseley in the City, are thriving. The Wolseley remains as it was, known far beyond London for its 'Parisian cafe meets Viennese dining room' menu, spectacular but intimate room, and warm ambience. The numbers speak for themselves. Last year, the original Wolseley sold 21,803 schnitzels, 7,542 pancakes, 45,750 afternoon teas and 29,837 oysters. As a group, the restaurants managed 18,358 champagne bottles and 91,306 glasses, 99,013 schnitzels, 15,755 pancakes and 49,104 afternoon teas. Wolseley parent company, Minor International, turned in thumping annual results, including record net profits. Now Minor is taking the business international, and going further still, by opening The Wolseley Hotels. Proof that no single person is bigger than the brand, and evidence that what they created is capable of developing and expanding into a money-making machine Minor is so-called because it was founded by entrepreneur Bill Heinecke when he was underage. American-born Heinecke started in business in Bangkok at the age of just 14, in 1963, while he was still in high school. He persuaded the editor of the Bangkok World newspaper to let him write a column on go-karting, securing advertising space alongside it. This initiative was so successful that he took over the paper's advertising manager position. When Heinecke left school at 17, he decided he wanted to set up on his own. He borrowed $1,200 from a backstreet moneylender to register his first two companies: Inter-Asian Enterprise, which provided office cleaning services, and Inter-Asian Publicity, an advertising company. The holding company was Minor Holdings – for the first year, his mother had to sign the paychecks on his behalf. Over nearly six decades, he grew Minor into a major powerhouse, encompassing hospitality (Minor Hotels), food (Minor Food) and lifestyle retail. Pivotal was the 2018 acquisition of Spain's NH Hotel Group, tripling Minor's hotel portfolio and propelling it to leading world hospitality player. Today, Minor owns 560 properties with 85,000 rooms across 57 countries. They will be joined by four new brands – The Wolseley Hotels, Colbert Collection, Minor Reserve Collection and iStay Hotels – to help Minor achieve its aim of reaching 850 hotels and 4,000 restaurants by the end of 2027. It's all part of Heinecke's bold vision. When asked which was his best decade, he is quick to answer: 'My best decade has yet to come.' Ian Di Tullio, chief commercial officer of Minor Hotels, said the Wolseley Hotels will 'take multiple cues' from the restaurant in Piccadilly. 'Like the restaurant, the hotel will be a place where formality melts away, replaced by friendly familiarity and glamour without pretension. Rituality and attentiveness are at the heart of the guest experience, where every guest will be treated to our effortless balance of class and etiquette, from their welcome by The Wolseley Hotel's door person to the stay rituals delivered by a team passionate about the craft of hospitality.' Minor is looking to open Wolseley Hotels in New York, Paris, Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai and other key centres. London is also earmarked as 'a fantastic location and a natural fit'. Di Tullio said: 'We will be very particular and deliberate about where we open The Wolseley Hotels properties, growing its footprint slowly with partners who share our vision for the brand experience. This will be a carefully curated rollout, with each new location thoughtfully chosen to be a perfect match for the brand's character and values.' He added: 'Brands are a brilliant way to endorse existing customers and find new ones.' He makes the point, though, that it does not apply to all. 'The Wolseley is an iconic brand with soul and character, and an individual creativity – there are very few of them, which is why we want to start a new hotel portfolio with our existing brands.' Nevertheless, he has a product – Britain has a product – that is internationally transferable, provided standards are maintained. 'There is pure theatre, pleasurable impact for anyone entering The Wolseley and we want to celebrate and to share that special sense of luxury with a new global audience. We will do that respectfully and carefully and with passion.' So, The Wolseley brand sustains and is expanding. Rather than the world taking over a uniquely British label, that British label is taking over the world. It shows what Britain is capable of, with an injection of self-belief and commercial strength and savvy. What began as a car showroom was, through imagination and flair, transformed into an exceptional restaurant, then widened. Now it's to be raised to another level, across the globe, in hotels. Credit to Minor and Heinecke for having the idea and for going where others have not. You realise that a Paris or Brussels restaurant could not make the leap, they just don't have that same internationally-admired British style. We could make so much more out of this as a country, as an economy. It does make you wonder what other loved and homegrown brands could achieve with the application of similar faith and a fair wind. Investors, brand proprietors and Keir Starmer and his teams devoted to exporting British soft power, please note.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
I'm too ill to travel – why won't the hotel refund me?
Q Is it legal or reasonable for a hotel not to offer any sort of refund? I was booked to stay at a well-known hotel chain this coming Saturday night. Unfortunately, I am ill and can't go. The hotel has refused to refund me. It seems quite harsh that it's a flat 'no' like this! A The hotel responded to your polite request for a refund by saying: 'Unfortunately due to the cancellation policy, the amount due is not refundable even if the booking is cancelled or modified.' I checked the conditions for the 'advance saver' you booked; in return for a 15 per cent discount on the regular, flexible rate (refundable until midnight the night before), it makes quite clear you are not getting your money back. Sorry. Yet there is rather more to your case than that. I have tried to make a booking for Saturday night and found the place is full up. The website says: 'Unavailable for the selected dates'. There are two possibilities that I can see: one is that the hotel will have an unoccupied room on Saturday night because you won't be showing up; that would be a shame. The other is that the hotel has deliberately overbooked. Hotels often predict a certain number of no-shows of people who have booked and paid in advance, perhaps selling 102 rooms in a 100-room hotel. (I recently asked at the front desk of a four-star hotel in Brussels if they had any rooms available that night, and was told 'minus two' – ie it was overbooked.) Whichever explanation is correct, I think it would be fairer and commercially smart on a busy night to allow you to change dates for a fee or to allow you to cancel completely for, say, a 50 per cent refund. Then the hotel could resell your room with confidence, and probably price it at significantly more than the £95 you paid due to strong demand. For now, though, I fear all you can do is spend your hard-earned money elsewhere in future. Q What countries have you not been to? Steve Holland A Far too many to mention. While I relish visiting new nations, I am in no sense a 'completist' wanting to visit every country in the world. I am sure the scattering of island nations across the Pacific have their charms, but I won't be putting together a complicated, expensive and time-consuming itinerary to visit them. (I have, though, been to Easter Island, part of Chile, which I wholeheartedly recommend.) My most pressing wish is to explore more of Africa. In the west, I have heard great things about Sierra Leone and Ghana. Congo looks fascinating. And, in the southeast, Malawi and Mozambique are tempting. In the Indian Ocean, Reunion (technically part of France) and Madagascar appeal. In the Middle East, I will be visiting Lebanon for the first time this October, but Syria, Iraq and Iran I will save for later. The main Asian nations I long to visit are Pakistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. I have tried to visit the last of those. The authorities refused to issue a visa. I hope officials in Ashgabat may be more lenient next time. North Korea? I would much prefer to visit when this strange land is freed from tyranny. In South America, my 'missing' nations are the sole Dutch and French representatives on the continent, Suriname and French Guiana. I will reach them one day. Mostly, though, I am desperate to explore more of the countries I have already visited. I am looking forward to returning to Ukraine – as well as Belarus and Russia – when the war ends; tourism is a force for healing after conflict. Large swathes of Turkey look enticing, as do Georgia and Armenia. At the other end of Asia, I have barely done Indonesia justice, and will do so soon. Finally, the more I see of the great European nations – France, Spain, Italy, Germany... – the more I want to return. Q I am going to Belgium in early September. I don't think we have time for Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp. Which two of those would you choose? John Gregory A Without question, Antwerp and Ghent. Bruges is a superbly preserved medieval city with a magnificent, Unesco -listed historic centre. But in summer it is Belgium's strongest contender for overtourism, especially when a big cruise ship docks at nearby Zeebrugge. According to maritime sources, vessels will call at the port on most days in the first half of September. Bruges and Ghent are sometimes portrayed as similar – but in my view, the latter has more to offer. Rivers and canals slice Ghent into a collection of enticing quarters. You can survey them from the top of the 14th-century belfry – accessible by 366 steps. The first cultural highlight is a superb Modern art museum, Smak. Next, a spectacular work of art, The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb by Jan and Hubert Van Eyck, on display in the cathedral; it is also known as the Ghent altarpiece. And Citadelpark has much to offer, including the beautiful University Botanic Gardens, with 10,000 species of plant, and MSK – the Museum of Fine Arts. Antwerp is twice the size of Ghent and more industrialised, but the city centre is eminently walkable. The central station is more than a busy transport hub: it is a palace of mobility and the grandest possible entry point to a city. The impressively refreshed Royal Museum of Fine Arts (also known as KMSKA) is lots of fun. Antwerp's Flemish renaissance Grote Markt feels like a more enjoyable central square than even the Grand-Place in Brussels. Both Antwerp and Ghent offer superb food and drink at reasonable prices – as does everywhere else in Belgium. Just in case you have time en route from Antwerp to Brussels airport or main railway station for your journey home, Mechelen is well worth a lunch stop, too. Q I was booked to fly from the Maldives to Doha and onwards to London on Qatar Airways on the day the Iranians fired their missiles at the Al Udeid Air Base. The flight to Doha was cancelled. Ground staff at the airport could only give me a slip of paper telling me to contact the local Qatar Airways office. That was impossible; two emails only got automated replies. So I bought full-price British Airways tickets home for the following day. Qatar now refuses to pay any compensation or expenses and has only offered a refund of the unused return portion. Of course, I accept the cause was beyond the airline's control. Even though it was a 'non-UK sector' that was cancelled, because the whole journey started and finished in London, that gives me UK rights, I think? Leon D A Your experience mirrors mine last November when Qatar Airways cancelled a flight from Kathmandu to Doha, not in such dramatic circumstances as yours. The carrier washed its hands of the matter, offering a replacement flight a week later. I ended up spending £1,300 to get home via Bangkok. Qatar Airways issued a refund for the return leg promptly, but it didn't cover even half of that cost. You have, I'm afraid, become the latest traveller to learn of the loophole in British and European air passengers' rights rules. They do not apply to a non-European airline flying from outside the UK or the EU. So there is no obligation to find another flight or provide hotels and meals. This is infuriating and should be addressed. Rules notwithstanding, the passenger-friendly course of action for Qatar Airways would have been to rebook you immediately on the British Airways flight for which you ended up paying top whack. But tens of thousands of passengers were stranded in various locations. Many of them, such as those flying out for the UK, were covered by air passengers' rights rules. So it is unsurprising that they were prioritised. If you happen to have been on a package holiday to the Maldives, then the holiday company is required to look after you and should recompense you. Otherwise, I suggest you try your travel insurer.
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Travellers race to buy ‘surprisingly spacious' underseat cabin bag reduced on Amazon – was £24, now £15
FLYING overseas soon and keen to avoid those dreaded baggage costs? Head to Amazon, where travellers are rushing to pick up an underseat cabin bag that's been reduced from £23.95 to just £14.95. Cabin Max 40 x 20 x 25cm Cabin Bag, £14.95 (was £23.95) Amazon Prime Day may have wrapped up yesterday, but if you missed out, don't despair – there are still fantastic deals to be found, especially on travel essentials like carry-on luggage. One great option is the Cabin Max 40 x 20 x 25cm Cabin Bag, perfectly sized to fit those ever-tightening hand luggage rules from airlines like Ryanair, EasyJet, and Wizz Air. With these airlines now charging extra for overhead compartment luggage, savvy plane travellers are turning to purpose-built underseat bags to sidestep those pesky fees. After all: airports are stressful enough without the added drama of unexpected charges at the gate, right? The Cabin Max cabin bag is now a top-seller on the Amazon website, thanks to its clever 2-in-1 design and practical features. Designed specifically for airlines with strict baggage rules, the Cabin Max bag maximises Ryanair's 40x20x25cm underseat allowance with a generous 20-litre capacity. Its soft-sided build and compression straps makes it perfect for efficient packing - you can pull it to to ensure it will fit into the dreaded baggage checker at the terminal. The front pocket has holders for travel accessories and documents, while the side bottle holder and rear trolley strap add convenience. Extensive padding on the straps, back panel, and top handle should make it comfortable to carry, even when fully packed. Best of all, it's got a built-in trolley handle, so you can pull it along, rather than carry it (though some shoppers have said it's shorter than they'd like). Engineered and tested in the UK, the Cabin Max bag has racked up over 10,000 five-star reviews on Amazon. Here's what some happy customers had to say: 'Nice and small, but still with plenty of room to pack everything you need for a flight," writes one shopper. "The handy stow-away backpack straps are a bonus, as you can easily convert this to a nap sack. "Likewise, the trolley handle is hidden away and can be used to wheel the bag around." 'Brilliant little bag for travelling light," says another customer. "Surprisingly spacious... you'll get more into it than you would anticipate. Highly recommended.' Amazon hasn't put an end date for this deal on the website, so it's worth snapping up quickly if you want it at the reduced price. Head to our holiday tips, tricks and hacks page for more ways for holidaymakers to save cash.
