Buffett’s Berkshire to Be Largest Shareholder in New Kraft Heinz

The deal that’s bringing together H.J. Heinz Co. and Kraft Foods Group Inc. is a complicated one, but for Warren Buffett aficionados, here’s the part that matters: HisBerkshire Hathaway Inc. will be the largest shareholder in the new firm.

Through an earlier transaction where Brazilian private-equity firm 3G Capital Partners LP and Berkshire teamed up to buy Heinz, Mr. Buffett’s Berkshire owns just over half of the ketchup company. Wednesday’s deal announcement said that “existing Heinz shareholders”–that’s Berkshire and 3G–will have a 51% ownership stake in the new Kraft Heinz Co.

So if the deal goes through, Berkshire will own a bit more than a quarter of the combined prepared-foods powerhouse.

But unlike Berkshire’s ownership of Heinz, which became private when Mr. Buffett and his friends at 3G stepped in, the new Kraft Heinz will be a public company, because the existing Kraft shareholders will keep their stock. They’ll own the other 49% of the new firm.

Berkshire spent $4.5 billion for its equity stake in Heinz and is chipping in a bit north of $5 billion to help fund this latest deal. That means Mr. Buffett’s conglomerate will have spent just over $9.5 billion for its one-quarter slice of the combined firm.

On CNBC Wednesday, Mr. Buffett said Berkshire would own more than 300 million shares of the new company, and will have paid less than $30 apiece for them.

Kraft shares are at $82.23 in pre-market trading Wednesday, up 34% in reaction to the news. But a more accurate comparison to Berkshire’s cost basis would be $65.73, as the stock will fall just before the deal closes when Kraft shareholders get a $16.50 special dividend as part of the deal.

But Mr. Buffett said he wasn’t thinking about the deal as one that will allow Berkshire to exit at a profit.

“You won’t see Berkshire reduce its interest,” Mr. Buffett said on CNBC. “We will be in this stock forever.”

Mr. Buffett also said Berkshire will have three directors on the combined company’s 11-member board.

ref: Buffett’s Berkshire to Be Largest Shareholder in New Kraft Heinz

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3G Capita 暨上次與 Berkshire 連手收購世界知名食品大廠 Heinz 後，
這次又豪砸重金收購這家 Kraft (台灣常出現的餅乾即為 OREO)。
Kraft 出現被併購消息股價當天跳空上漲 35%...

這已經不是 Berkshire 第一次大手筆收購食品業，
Buffett 也時常表明它就是不愛投資電子股。
看來有機會要重新尋找台灣有哪家是可以投資的食品股了XD