Acquisition by Amurol Confections Company, a Wrigley Subsidiary June 4, 2001 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Amurol Confections Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company (NYSE: WWY) announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Velamints® intense, sugar-free breath mints business from Ragold, Inc. of Chicago, Illinois, for an undisclosed price. Amurol Confections, based in Yorkville, Illinois, is the manufacturer of a variety of gum and candy products. Some of its major brands include Bubble Tape®, Everest®, and Big League Chew®. Under terms of the agreement, Amurol Confections will immediately take over production, marketing and distribution control of Velamints in the United States. The agreement also involves worldwide rights to the Velamints/Velemint brand; but, as part of the arrangement, Ragolds Suesswaren GmbH of Karlsruhe, Germany will continue to produce and distribute the mints outside the United States. The Velamints brand was launched in the U.S. market in 1977 and essentially created the sugar-free breath mint category. Velamints continues to compete in what has become a very vibrant segment of the U.S. confectionery market, offering its products to consumers in three popular flavors - peppermint, wintergreen and chocolate. A. G. Atwater, Jr., the President of Amurol Confections, remarked: "We are thrilled about the addition of the Velamints brand to the Amurol family of products. Velamints helped define the sugar-free mint category in the United States. We believe in the power of this brand, especially with some new creative thinking behind it, to win new fans and bring some new excitement to the mint category. We have immediate plans to build on Velamints current brand equity with U.S. consumers, while various possibilities for growing the brand internationally are explored." FROM: AMUROL CONFECTIONS COMPANY Bruce Thompson, Vice President - Marketing Phone: (630) 553-4646 To the extent that statements contained in this press release may be considered forward-looking statements, the following will be deemed to be the Wrigley Company's meaningful cautionary disclosure regarding such statements. A variety of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results or expectations expressed. The important factors that could affect these outcomes are set forth in Exhibit 99 to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000. << Back