Dive Brief:
- Kraft Foods Group shareholders will come to a vote to decide the fate of the potential acquisition by H.J. Heinz Co. on July 1. The deal was originally announced March 25.
- For the deal to proceed, "Kraft shareholders holding at least a majority of the company's shares need to vote in favor of the deal for the companies to proceed with the acquisition," Chicago Tribune reported.
- Per the deal, the new merged company would be named Kraft Heinz Co. under the stock ticker symbol KHC.
Dive Insight:
According to Chicago Tribune, as the deal also entails, "Each share of Kraft will be converted into the right to get one share of Kraft Heinz. Kraft will also declare a special cash dividend of $16.50 per Kraft share." If for certain reasons the deal is canceled, Kraft could be held to paying Heinz a $1.2 billion breakup fee.
Kraft shareholders have a huge decision to make for a company that could see significant changes as the result of the merger.
One issue on the forefront of many Kraft shareholders' minds is potential job cuts, which were seen by Heinz as well when its new owner 3G Capital took over in 2013. The same cost-cutting measures could mean bad news for marketing agencies as well. Shareholders still have time to consider the deal, during which time more announcements could be made about potential details of the merger, so July 1 will be an important day for the future of Kraft — and Heinz.