London: Nestle, the world’s largest food group, has agreed to pay $5.5 billion for the US baby food company, Gerber, more than a decade after it first tried to buy the company.

The acquisition, from Novartis, will make Nestle the world’s largest baby food maker, the company said.

Gerber, which began life in the 1920s making strained peas and carrots, has a dominant position in baby food in the US with a market share of about 82 per cent, according to Nestle. It also has operations in Mexico, Poland and central America. Though the US accounts for around a quarter of Nestle group sales, its presence in the baby food market is marginal.

“The acquisition of Gerber is the perfect complementary fit,” PeterBrabeck-Letmathe, chairman and chief executive of Nestle said.