Nestle

(Newser) - Nestle and pharma giant Novartis continued swapping brands today, with Novartis, which sold Gerber to Nestle last year, agreeing to pay $39 billion for a 77% stake in eye-care company Alcon, reports the Wall Street Journal. The two-step deal—Novartis will pay $11 billion for 74 million shares this year...

(Newser) - The European Commission suspects candy giant Hershey of conspiring with other chocolate and candy manufacturers in an industry-wide price-fixing scheme, AP reports. Both Hershey and rival Mars recently received requests for information from the commission after some 50 civil lawsuits in the US have alleged price fixing. The two companies...

(Newser) - Following a similar investigation in Canada last month, the Justice Department has launched a probe into possible price-fixing in the US chocolate industry. The suspects form a rich, creamy lineup: M&M maker Mars acknowledged it has been contacted by the DOJ, the Wall Street Journal reports. Nestle, too, says...

(Newser) - Overall chocolate sales are down, but Americans are increasingly indulging their sweet tooth with dark chocolate. The bitter, coffee-flavored treat is on the rise: Last year, dark chocolate sales surged 15% while sales of more popular milk chocolate dipped 5.5%. And boosted by claims of health benefits, dark chocolate...