Candy maker Mars Inc. is buying Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co., the confectioner behind Juicy Fruit and Doublemint gum and Life Savers candy, for about $23 billion in cash, the companies announced Monday.

The agreement has the potential to transform the globe's confectionery industry and could spawn a series of other combinations.

Alan Brochstein of AnalystForHire has been preaching that this is not the time to "be reaching for yield." He wrote articles in November, July and