|
Kraft hungry for deals
|
 |
September 3, 2001: 8:48 a.m. ET
Co-CEOs say they're looking for further purchases as they integrate Nabisco
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Top executives at Kraft Foods are hungry for new acquisitions, according to a published report.
In an interview published Monday in the Financial Times, Betsy Holden and Roger Deromedi, the company's co-CEOs, said they're looking for "tack-on" acquisitions. They also are looking for new products out of existing brands.
The company, which purchased Nabisco Holdings Corp. for $14.9 billion last year, is not looking to rush into another large acquisition, the paper quotes Deromedi as saying.
"We want to make sure we do the Nabisco integration well," he said. "If you try to do too much too fast, you don't do it well."
But the company does believe there are opportunities for purchases in the snack and beverage area, U.S. convenience food meals sector, as well as health and wellness. For example, last Thursday the company announced it was buying It's Pasta Anytime! food line and other assets from privately-held Borden Foods Corp. for an undisclosed sum.
"We look for growing categories, strong brands we can build, (with) attractive double-digit financial returns," the paper quotes Holden as saying. She's added the company would focus on deals that would immediately add to earnings per share rather.
Kraft brands include Kraft cheese, Nabisco cookies and crackers, Oscar Mayer meats and Post cereals.
Kraft (KFT: Research, Estimates) had an initial public offering June 13, which lowered the stake of Philip Morris Co. (MO: Research, Estimates) in Kraft to 84 percent from 100 percent while giving it a currency to complete future deals as well.
Click here for a look at food and beverage stocks
Shares of Kraft closed trading Friday down 40 cents to $32.25, and were not traded Monday due to the Labor Day holiday in the United States. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kraft
|
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNNmoney
|
|
|
|
 |
|
