Mars bars are seen in this picture illustration Thomson Reuters (Reuters) - Candy and pet food maker Mars Inc said it would buy VCA Inc , which runs hospitals for animals, for $7.7 billion.

Mars, the maker of Whiskas and Pedigree pet products, will pay $93 per share, a premium of 31.4 percent to VCA's Friday closing price.

The enterprise value of the deal is $9.1 billion including $1.4 billion in debt, the companies said in a statement on Monday.

VCA will operate as a separate business unit within Mars Petcare, the biggest pet food maker in the world.

(Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)