Russell Stover, maker of the fabled Whitman Sampler, just got bought out by Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Spruengli, a.k.a, Lindt.

The merged company should hit an estimated $1.5 billion in sales per year.

This made me wonder how companies find each other for these sorts of deals. It would be great if they had to write personal ads the way people do. What is the professional equivalent of candlelit dinners and long walks on the beach? What is the corporate translation of a hardworking, athletic non-smoker?

In the audio player above, I imagine how the Russell Stover/Lindt relationship would start off…

Incidently, to help research this article, I purchased a Whitman Sampler and a bag of Lindt truffles from Duane Reade. After doing my necessary background research, I put these both in the communal kitchen. The Lindt truffles are gone and the only chocolate left in the Whitman Sampler is Raspberry Cream (Thank you, chocolate map).

Also, Russell Stover has a chocolate hack available on its web site.

You won’t be sorry. The words “butter fudge” appear.