Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on May 20, 2025
(Reuters) -Kraft Heinz said it was looking at strategic transactions as demand for its pricey snacks and ready-to-eat meals weakens in an uncertain economic environment.
The company also said Timothy Kenesey and Alicia Knapp, executives at Berkshire Hathaway-owned companies, were leaving its board of directors after Warren Buffett's conglomerate said it would no longer hold board seats.
Kraft Heinz has been looking for potential merger and acquisition opportunities "over the past several months", chief executive officer Carlos Abrams-Rivera said in a statement.
Consumers are turning to healthier processed food products amid a surge in the use of weight-loss drugs. Tariffs were also adding to Kraft's woes as it lowered its annual organic sales and profit forecasts last month.
Its hot dogs and cold cuts business, Oscar Mayer, was attracting interest from several buyers for a deal that could be worth $3 billion, Reuters reported in October last year.
The company, which has a market capitalization of about $33 billion, declined to comment further on the nature of the strategic transactions.
By exiting the Kraft Heinz board, Berkshire retains its 27.5% ownership but with no influence over its direction.
This could allow Buffett, who has led Berkshire since 1965, or Greg Abel, who is expected to become chief executive on January 1, 2026, to either sell Berkshire's stake or bid for brands that Kraft Heinz might want to sell.
Kraft Heinz has been a challenging investment for Berkshire, with Buffett admitting in 2019 that they overpaid in the 2015 merger of Kraft Foods with H.J. Heinz. This came four days after the packaged food giant took a $15.4 billion writedown on its brands and assets, leading to a $3 billion writedown for Berkshire.
Abel stepped down from Kraft Heinz's board last year.
Berkshire did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
(Reporting by Juveria Tabassum in Bengaluru and Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Vijay Kishore)
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