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Kraft IPO raises $8.7B
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June 12, 2001: 5:38 p.m. ET
Philip Morris unit to sells 280M shares at $31 share in year's largest IPO
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Kraft Foods Inc. came in at the top of its expected range late Tuesday, raising $8.68 billion, in the year's biggest initial public offering.
Kraft sold 280 million shares at $31 each via lead underwriters Credit Suisse First Boston and Salomon Smith Barney. Kraft bumped up its price range Tuesday to $30 to $31 a share from $27 to $30. The company had planned to sell 280 million shares.
At $8.68 billion, the IPO would rank as the largest U.S.-based deal since AT&T Wireless's (AWE: Research, Estimates) $10.6 billion offering last year.
The Kraft offering had been expected to raise as much as $8.4 billion last week.
With 1.735 billion shares outstanding, Kraft will have a near $53.78 billion market cap. Parent firm Philip Morris Cos. (MO: Research, Estimates) is selling about 16 percent to the public.
Northfield, Ill.-based Kraft, whose products include Oreo cookies, Stove Top Stuffing and Altoids candy, is the largest branded food and beverage company in the United States.
Kraft had $4 billion in operating income on $26.5 billion in revenue last year. The company had $1.1 billion in operating income on $8.4 billion in revenue for the quarter ended March 31.
Kraft will use proceeds of the IPO to pay part of an $11 billion note to Philip Morris.
After the IPO, Philip Morris will own 49.5 percent of Kraft's common stock and 97.7 percent of voting power.
Kraft will trade Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange with the symbol "KFT." 
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