GLOBAL: Kraft shareholders approve Heinz deal | Progresiv
Shareholders in Kraft Foods have approved the company’s merger plans with Heinz, which will create a behemoth called The Kraft Heinz Company. The plans were approved by nearly 98% of the votes cast at a special meeting to discuss the deal, which amounted to more than 69% of all outstanding Kraft shares. 
Kraft Heinz Co will have annual revenues of around 28 billion dollars, making it the fifth-largest food & beverages group in the world (and the third-largest in the US). Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital, the owners of Heinz, will take a 51% stake in the new company. Kraft shareholders will receive equity (1:1 ratio) in the new firm, as well as a special cash dividend of 16.50 dollars per share, according to www.kamcity.com.
On the other hand, Heinz is selling bonds in euros and pounds for the first time in at least 14 years to help finance its takeover of Kraft Foods Group, hours after completing a 10 billion dollars debt sale in the US.
The ketchup maker backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and Jorge Paulo Lemann's 3G Capital, is offering at least 500 million euros of notes and at least 300 million pounds of securities, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because they’re not authorised to speak publicly.
Heinz is raising funds to help finance the buyout of Kraft, which would create the third-largest foodand beverage company in North America encompassing household products from Philadelphia cheese to baked beans. It’s the latest US company to seek funding in euros, where borrowing costs for investment- grade firms are about two percentage points cheaper than in the US.
The company will use proceeds from the sale to repay a term loan, redeem 2020 notes and pay down a revolving-credit facility held by Kraft, the person familiar with the matter said. The euro-denominated debt is due in eight years and will pay a yield premium of 135 basis points to 140 basis points above benchmarks, according to the person. The pound bonds will mature in 12 years and pay 195 basis points to 200 basis points, the person said. (www.esmmagazine.com)
