Like denizens of other cities around the country, Chicagoans have been heard to express regrets as local landmark companies are bought up by out-of-town giants.
As the
Chicago Tribune points
out, some of the company names that formerly defined the business scene in the Windy City are First Chicago, Amoco, Ameritech, and Marshall Fields.
The good news for Chicagoland, however, is that a number of its companies are being bought by (or with the help of) Warren Buffett. Along with his participation in the Mars Inc.-Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. deal announced Monday, Buffett's other Chicago area holdings include USG Corp., Marmon Group and a stake in Kraft Foods Inc.
Buffett is known for buying what he considers to be well-managed companies with strong brands and leaving them be. That's a sharp contrast with
what has happened at Marshall Fields, for example, which is now a Macy's.
Indeed, the presence of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. as a minority investor in the local confectionery king may offer locals a little more comfort that Mars really will let Wrigley be Wrigley, as the buyer says it it intends to do. Maybe that's why
Crain's Chicago Business even ventures to suggest a few more Chicago-based portfolio possibilities for Buffett: Sara Lee Corp. and Tootsie Roll Industries Inc.
- Maria WoehrFor more on this deal read:
Big payday for Wrigley execs, including strategy SVPThe price of gum and other valuation vicissitudesAnother sweet deal for Buffett to tout at Berkshire jamboree next week
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