59: Mars Matches M&Ms with Animal Hospitals

At first blush, it's not obvious why Mars, the owner of M&Ms and Snickers, agreed to pay more than $9 billion including debt to acquire animal hospital-owner VCA. Bloomberg consumer reporter Craig Giammona didn't even realize closely held Mars already owned 900 animal health clinics, many of which reside in PetSmart retail stores. Still, the deal pushes Mars away from its core food business. Is it a signal we could be seeing a new wave of consumer conglomerates? Or is it unfair to say this deal is trend-setting? Giammona discusses with host Alex Sherman.

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