The proposed merger of the H.J. Heinz Co. and Kraft Foods Group has passed one hurdle, with federal regulators allowing a required waiting period to pass without raising objections to the deal.
In a joint news release from Pittsburgh-based Heinz and Northfield, Ill.-based Kraft issued this morning, the companies said the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust waiting period had expired.
Canadian regulators are still looking over the proposed merger, which would create the third largest food and beverage company in North America.
Kraft shareholders also must approve the deal to create a single company with about $28 billion in annual revenue and brands such as Oscar Mayer, Lunchables and Ore-Ida. They are scheduled to vote at a meeting July 1 in Chicago.
The plan calls for Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, which bought Heinz two years ago, to hold 51 percent ownership in the new public company and leave 49 percent to Kraft shareholders.
The new company's stock is expected to trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "KHC.”
Teresa F. Lindeman: tlindeman@post-gazette.com or 412-263-2018.
First Published: June 9, 2015, 1:14 p.m.
