10 billion dollar investment
Kraft Foods shareholders will get 49 % of the newly formed company’s shares, called Kraft Heinz, while Heinz shareholders will acquire 51 % of the shares. Berkshire and 3G Capital will also invest another 10 billion dollars (9 billion euro).
“This is my kind of transaction, uniting two world-class organizations and delivering shareholder value,” Buffett said in the statement. “I’m excited by the opportunities for what this new combined organization will achieve.” 3G previously collaborated with Warren Buffett two years ago to acquire ketchup manufacturer Heinz for 23.2 billion dollars (21.2 billion euro).
Kraft Foods belonged to Kraft until 2012, which was then split into 2 companies: Mondelez International and Kraft Foods, which mainly focused on the North American market.
Jorge Paulo Lemann, 3G Capital’s co-founder, is also a large InBev shareholder and a major factor in InBev’s Anheuser-Busch acquisition. Financial experts therefore fear that the Kraft investment will lead to a lack of funds to merge AB InBev and SAB Miller.
