Kraft and Heinz Merge to Become World’s 5th-Largest Food Company

Kraft Foods Group, which makes Oscar Mayer meats and macaroni and cheese products, will merge with ketchup maker H.J. Heinz Co to become the fifth-largest food and beverage company in the world and the third-largest in the U.S.

The new company, the Kraft Heinz Company, will be co-headquartered in the Chicago and Pittsburgh areas and will have revenues of roughly $28 billion, the companies announced in a statement Wednesday. Eight of its combined brands will be worth more than $1 billion each, while five will be worth approximately $500 million-$1 billion each.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc and Brazilian private equity firm 3G Capital, which co-own Heinz, will invest an additional $10 billion into the merged company, of which current Heinz and Kraft shareholders will collectively own 51 percent and 49 percent, respectively. Kraft shareholders will also receive special cash dividends of $16.50 per share.

“This is my kind of transaction…