At first blush, it's not obvious why Mars, the owner of M&Ms and Snickers, agreed to pay more than $9 billion including debt to acquire animal hospital-owner VCA. Bloomberg consumer reporter Craig Giammona didn't even realize closely held Mars already owned 900 animal health clinics, many of which reside in PetSmart retail stores. Still, the deal pushes Mars away from its core food business. Is it a signal we could be seeing a new wave of consumer conglomerates? Or is it unfair to say this deal is trend-setting? Giammona discusses with host Alex Sherman.

<p>At first blush, it's not obvious why Mars, the owner of M&amp;Ms and Snickers, agreed to pay more than $9 billion including debt to acquire animal hospital-owner VCA. Bloomberg consumer reporter Craig Giammona didn't even realize closely held Mars already owned 900 animal health clinics, many of which reside in PetSmart retail stores. Still, the deal pushes Mars away from its core food business. Is it a signal we could be seeing a new wave of consumer conglomerates? Or is it unfair to say this deal is trend-setting? Giammona discusses with host Alex Sherman.</p>

Bloomberg M&A reporters, joined by outside experts and members of Bloomberg's Deals team, examines the week's biggest deals and highlights M&A trends most under scrutiny by Wall Street. He'll talk to reporters who broke Bloomberg's major scoops and interview investors, executives, lawyers and bankers for an inside peek into what's going on inside corporate boardrooms and what it's like working with the world's largest companies and richest people.

Bloomberg M&A reporter Alex Sherman examines the week's biggest deals and highlights M&A trends most under scrutiny by Wall Street.

Deal of the Week

59: Mars Matches M&Ms with Animal Hospitals

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