Wm. Wrigley Jr. (WWY: sentiment, chart, options) shares leaped to a new annual high today after Mars Inc. stated it plans to acquire the chewing gum company. The deal is valued at $23 billion in cash, or $80 per share marking a 28% premium to WWY's Friday closing price. Following completion of the buyout in 6 to 12 months, Wrigley would become a subsidiary of Virginia-based Mars, though its headquarters will remain in Chicago.

WWY chairman Bill Wrigley Jr. stated, "this is a great transaction at a great price that provides tremendous value to Wrigley stockholders." Morningstar analyst Mitchell Corwin agrees earlier, he noted, "Combined, they catapult Cadbury [Schweppes] by a significant margin."

One-man investing powerhouse Warren Buffett is also in on the deal. His Berkshire Hathaway will acquire a $2.1-billion minority equity interest in Wrigley once the deal is complete, and his company also offered Mars $4.4 billion of subordinated debt to bankroll the buyout. "A good time to buy a really great business is when you can do it," said Buffett, apparently under the impression that this was a lucid insight into his investing prowess.

In other WWY news, the company said that first-quarter profit jumped 18% to $168.6 million, or 61 cents per share, while revenue skipped 16% higher to $1.45 billion. Both figures exceeded analysts' estimates, which called for a profit of 55 cents per share on $1.39 billion in revenue.