Nestlé to sell US bars to Ferrero (3)

(ANSA) - New York, January 10 - Nestlé is close to selling its American chocolate bar business to Italian confectioner Ferrero for 2.8 billion dollars, Bloomberg said Wednesday. The Italian group has been vying with Hershey of the US to get the US chocolate interests of the Swiss transnational group, the world's largest food and beverage group. A deal between Nestlé and Ferrero could be signed by Sunday, Bloomberg said. The acquisition would enable Ferrero to strengthen its presence on the US market after buying Candy sweets in December, an operation that boosted its chunk of the American market to 4.8%.