Berkshire Hathaway Set to Divest its 28% Stake in Kraft Heinz
Berkshire Hathaway has set the stage to potentially divest its entire 27.5% stake in Kraft Heinz, a move that suggests new CEO Greg Abel’s readiness to rectify one of Warren Buffett’s rare investment blunders. This investment has seen a loss of approximately 70% of its value since the 2015 merger that birthed the food conglomerate.
Following this development, Kraft Heinz shares dipped by as much as 7.5% in Wednesday trading. Berkshire had to endure a $3.76 billion writedown on its Kraft Heinz stake last summer. Buffett himself expressed his disappointment with the investment, candidly admitting to CNBC last year that “it certainly didn’t turn out to be a brilliant idea to put them together.”
The filing comes at a time when Kraft Heinz is gearing up to split into two independent entities in the second half of 2026: Global Taste Elevation Co., which will focus on brands like Heinz and Philadelphia, and North American Grocery Co., set to include Oscar Mayer and Kraft Singles.
According to Stifel analysts, the registration offers Berkshire the flexibility to downsize its position rather than indicating an impending sale. CFRA Research analyst Cathy Seifert suggested this could be the start of a thorough review of Berkshire’s holdings under Abel’s new leadership, hinting at a potential shift from Buffett’s traditional acquisition-centric strategy.
Source: CNBC