The sale of WK Kellogg Co. was approved Friday by shareholders, transferring the company that made Battle Creek, Michigan, known as Cereal City to foreign ownership.

The vote finalizes the $3.1 billion deal selling the company to Ferrero Group, the maker of Butterfinger candy bars and Nutella hazelnut spread.

“The acquisition of WK Kellogg Co supports Ferrero’s plan for strategic growth in North America and expands the Company’s reach across more consumption occasions with brands beloved by consumers," Ferrero said in a news release. "Ferrero plans to invest in and grow WK Kellogg Co’s iconic portfolio of brands across the United States, Canada and the Caribbean."

Under the deal announced July 10, WK Kellogg shareholders are to receive $23 in cash for each share of Kellogg common stock they owned immediately prior to the closing. Ferrero has said WK Kellogg Co.'s headquarters will remain in Battle Creek. The 119-year-old cereal maker, known for brands including Frosted Mini-Wheats, Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops and Raisin Bran, is no longer listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

This summer, Ferrero Executive Chairman Giovanni Ferrero said the transaction would be more than just an acquisition, representing the coming together of two companies each with a proud legacy and generations of loyal consumers.

“Over recent years, Ferrero has expanded its presence in North America, bringing together our well-known brands from around the world with local jewels rooted in the U.S." he said in a July statement.

The transaction marks an end to Battle Creek's run as a quintessential Michigan company town, where the name of an independent Kellogg graces everything from corporate offices to credit unions and the local community college.

Change is not new for Kellogg, whose precursor was founded in Battle Creek in 1906. In October 2023, Kellogg Co. split into two companies split into two independent, publicly traded companies — a move announced in 2022.

The separation created Kellanova, focused on global snack brands like Pringles and Pop-Tarts and headquartered in Chicago, and WK Kellogg Co. which remained headquartered in Battle Creek and focused on the North American cereal business.

Kellanova is being acquired by Mars in a more than $30 billion deal announced in August 2024 that has yet to close.

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