(The Epoch Times)—Berkshire Hathaway, the global conglomerate chaired by Warren Buffett, is considering a 28 percent divestiture in Kraft Heinz, an international food and beverage corporation.
It would be, if implemented, one of the most significant moves yet under Greg Abel, Berkshire Hathaway’s CEO, who succeeded Warren Buffett earlier this year.
A Jan. 20 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shows that Berkshire intends to register the potential resale of up to an aggregate of 325,442,152 shares of the Kraft Heinz common stock, par value $0.01 per share.
According to court documents, the filing of the resale does not necessarily mean that the selling stockholder will actually choose to sell any shares. The resale prospectus was filed in accordance with the company’s automatic “shelf” registration statement that was previously filed with the SEC on Feb. 13, 2025.
A shelf registration statement is an SEC filing that allows a company to register securities for future sale on a delayed basis, symbolically placing them on a “shelf.”
“If any shares are sold by the selling stockholder, the company would not receive any proceeds from that sale,” the document states. “No securities will be issued or sold by the company pursuant to the resale prospectus supplement.”
Based in Omaha, Nebraska, Berkshire Hathaway’s current portfolio includes diverse businesses such as Geico, BNSF Railway, and more than 1,600 real estate brokerages worldwide. It also holds significant stakes in public firms such as Apple and Coca-Cola.
Berkshire’s investment in Kraft was a result of the 2015 merger that created the company. Berkshire and 3G Capital managed the deal that combined H.J. Heinz and Kraft Foods, as Berkshire acquired a large stake as part of that transaction.
“In March 2015, Heinz Holding and Kraft Foods Group, Inc. (“Kraft”) entered into a merger agreement under which Kraft shareholders were entitled to receive one share of newly issued Heinz Holding common stock for each share of Kraft common stock and a special cash dividend of $16.50 per share,” a SEC document states.
The H.J. Heinz Company first announced the merger in 2013. Following the acquisition, Heinz shareholders received $72.50 in cash for each share of common stock. Once the merger was completed, Heinz’s common stock was no longer listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
According to the SEC document, on July 1, 2015, Berkshire acquired 262.9 million shares of newly issued common stock of Kraft Heinz for $5.26 billion, and 3G acquired 237.1 million shares of newly issued common stock for $4.74 billion.
Following Kraft’s execution of a reverse stock split, Berkshire owned approximately 325.4 million shares of Kraft Heinz common stock, or 52.5 percent of the then-outstanding shares. Following the merger close on July 2, 2015, Kraft Heinz issued nearly 592 million new shares of its common stock to former Kraft shareholders. By the merger completion, Berkshire and 3G owned about 51 percent of the outstanding Kraft Heinz common stock, with Berkshire’s share at 26.9 percent.
This week, the Kraft Heinz Company announced it will release its fourth-quarter 2025 and full-year financial results on Feb. 11. Its 2024 net sales reached nearly $26 billion.
As of 1:20 p.m. EST on Jan. 21, shares of the company dropped by 6.08 percent, to $22.32. Its 52-week high closing price was $32.22.
Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Kraft Heinz products include Heinz ketchup, Kraft macaroni and cheese, Oscar Mayer meats, Philadelphia cream cheese, Jell-O, Velveeta cheese, Grey Poupon mustard, Kool-Aid, and many other foods and soft drinks.
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