Warren Buffett shelled out $6.5 billion to help Mars buy Wrigley during the financial crisis. Here's how he made the candy deal happen.

• Warren Buffett spent $6.5 billion to help Mars acquire Wrigley during the financial crisis.
• The investor bought $2.1 billion of Wrigley's preferred stock, and $4.4 billion of its bonds.
• The candy deal was "completed without pause while, elsewhere, panic reigned," Buffett said.

Warren Buffett laid out $6.5 billion to help Mars acquire Wrigley in October 2008, cementing one of the few mega-mergers during the financial crisis and creating a global confectionery giant. Here's a closer look at how the legendary investor made the deal happen.