Buffett's Berkshire and 3G to buy Heinz

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Omaha World Herald-AP

NEW YORK (AP) — H.J. Heinz Co. said Thursday that it agreed to be acquired by an investment consortium including billionaire investor Warren Buffett in a deal valued at $28 billion.

The ketchup company said Heinz shareholders will receive $72.50 in cash for each share of common stock they own. The deal value includes the assumption of Heinz's debt. Based on Heinz's number of shares outstanding, the deal is worth $23.3 billion, excluding debt.

The per share price represents a 20 percent premium to Heinz's closing price of $60.48 on Wednesday.

"It's our kind of company," Buffett said in an interview on CNBC, noting its signature ketchup has been around for more than a century. "I've sampled it many times."

FULL story at link.



Read more: http://www.omaha.com/article/20130214/MONEY/130219699/1707#buffett-s-berkshire-and-3g-to-buy-heinz

[AngryAmish]

1. Looks like our Secretary of State truly has FU money now.

[John1956PA]

2. In 2002 Del Monte purchased several brands from Heinz.

The resulting business arrangement was akin to that of a partnership between Del Monte and Heinz. In 2008, one of my favorite brands, StarKist Tuna, was sold to a Korean company. Heinz's signature product, ketchup, is produced in Ohio which has a large agricultural industry, as does Pennsylvania.

The building housing the Heinz headquarters and former packaging plant in Pittsburgh is a noted historical landmark as well as an element of the city's heritage. About fourteen years ago, when a new football stadium was contemplated for the Steelers and the University of Pittsburgh Panthers football teams, the Heinz company purchased the naming rights. Heinz Field has been the home of those team since the fall of 2001.

This latest acquisition by the investment groups is a continuation of the conglomeration and corporate restructuring which the company began to experience over ten years ago.