Nutella maker Ferrero is buying the U.S. confectionery manufacturer Fannie May to further expand its presence in the United States. "The U.S. is an important market with a great potential for growth for Ferrero," said Giovanni Ferrero, the head of the family business on Thursday. The Italian confectionery manufacturer is mainly known in the U.S. for the Tic-Tac brand.Ferrero did not mention a purchase price, in the Italian media the sum of $115 million was called. Fannie May still belongs to the U.S. florist 1-800-Flowers.com. With this, Ferrero agreed that customers can also order chocolate products from Ferrero and Fannie May for their flower or gift baskets. Ferrero is still a discreet family business.Over the past decade, sales have doubled, and the number of employees has grown to 40,000. The products such as Nutella or children's chocolate are available in 170 countries. For several years, the company has abandoned its reluctance to buy. The Turkish hazelnut producer Oltan, the British chocolate producer Thorntons and the biscuit maker Delacre now belong to Ferrero.