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Guest wellmont
Posted

this would not be a good outcome since brk owns the common too. and under a disaster scenario,

the common shareholder would be massively diluted to pay the pref. be that as it may, this incredible piece of paper will likely be called in less than three years.

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Posted

this would not be a good outcome since brk owns the common too. and under a disaster scenario,

the common shareholder would be massively diluted to pay the pref. be that as it may, this incredible piece of paper will likely be called in less than three years.

 

Potentially. Based upon the wording, the call schedule will have a stepdown.  So they could still be around.

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
Posted

Great article.  Thanks for posting it.

 

Agreed! Great stuff, nice color on Lemann. I liked this quote about Heinz:

 

"He also axed 11 senior executives and replaced them with top performers from inside the company."

Guest longinvestor
Posted

Great article.  Thanks for posting it.

 

Agreed! Great stuff, nice color on Lemann. I liked this quote about Heinz:

 

"He also axed 11 senior executives and replaced them with top performers from inside the company."

 

+1

 

Had heard from an ex-Heinz employee about poor management. This friend of mine, knowing I am a BRK'er, asked what they do with management of acquired companies. I said "nothing" and they leave management intact. Now we learn about 3G's style which makes BRK-3G an interesting duo! Hope to hear more from Warren on this arrangement.

Posted

Fernandes, the onetime partner at Garantia, says he’d bet money that Lemann will try to take over PepsiCo (PEP). (A spokesperson from PepsiCo declined to comment.)

 

Very interesting speculation!

 

-CM

Posted

This could be a game changer.

 

Buffett has found a team who will do his dirty work, and he can fund it.

They can fix it. Probably can even sale it onces its down, claiming its a partnership....

 

Posted

This could be a game changer.

 

Buffett has found a team who will do his dirty work, and he can fund it.

They can fix it. Probably can even sale it onces its down, claiming its a partnership....

 

 

Good point.  I agree it definitely could be a game changer, especially down the road with BRK generating massive piles of cash.

 

I'm not so sure about selling though, I think I remember Buffett saying that Heinz is an ideal asset for Berkshire for the next hundred years.  It looks like the 3G guys hold for the long term as well...

 

-CM

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-11/buffett-backed-heinz-expects-160-million-cost-on-job-cuts-1-.html

 

HJ Heinz Co., the ketchup maker taken private by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A) and Jorge Paulo Lemann’s 3G Capital, expects about $160 million in severance-related expenses tied to job cuts.

 

About 1,200 employees are affected as part a plan to eliminate corporate and field positions worldwide, Pittsburgh-based Heinz said today in a regulatory filing. The company employed about 31,900 as of April 28, the end of its fiscal year.

 

Managers appointed by 3G, including new Chief Executive Officer Bernardo Hees, are cutting costs as the company faces payments tied to the financing of the deal. Heinz also shut a factory in China and reduced manufacturing at a U.K. facility, according to today’s filing.

Posted

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-18/buffett-s-9-heinz-dividend-means-3g-cutting-jobs-mini-fridges.html?cmpid=yhoo

 

We are hearing a lot about cost cuts.  I'd like to hear more about growth strategy and any other tactical decisions.

 

An August memo obtained by Bloomberg News outlines new rules. They limit printing to 200 pages a month per employee and restrict color pages to “customer-facing purposes.” Employees can spend no more than $15 a month on office supplies and are expected to reuse items such as box files. To save on electricity, mini-refrigerators “are not permitted moving forward” and staff should rely on appliances in common areas.

 

Such measures suggests there’s not much fat to trim, said Noel Hebert, chief investment officer at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania-based Concannon Wealth Management. Under pressure from investor Nelson Peltz in 2006, Johnson embarked on a plan to lower expenses by $355 million.

 

Consumer Focus

“When you start getting down to the amount of paper you can use, it’s telling you the obvious stuff is gone,” said Hebert, whose firm manages about $250 million

 

 

 

~~~~~

 

 

 

Posted

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-18/buffett-s-9-heinz-dividend-means-3g-cutting-jobs-mini-fridges.html?cmpid=yhoo

 

We are hearing a lot about cost cuts.  I'd like to hear more about growth strategy and any other tactical decisions.

 

Not sure it's out there, know a lawyer who had some insight on the deal, said the proposal submitted to regulators only included cost cutting as a benefit.

 

On the flip side, I'm familiar with some people who were at Heinz corporate, and there is a lot of fat that needed to be cut, so it isn't unwarranted.  Looks like this is a slash their way to profits story.

Posted

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-18/buffett-s-9-heinz-dividend-means-3g-cutting-jobs-mini-fridges.html?cmpid=yhoo

 

We are hearing a lot about cost cuts.  I'd like to hear more about growth strategy and any other tactical decisions.

 

Not sure it's out there, know a lawyer who had some insight on the deal, said the proposal submitted to regulators only included cost cutting as a benefit.

 

On the flip side, I'm familiar with some people who were at Heinz corporate, and there is a lot of fat that needed to be cut, so it isn't unwarranted.  Looks like this is a slash their way to profits story.

 

Interesting.  I remember reading about 3G having international expertise and might be able to increase growth in emerging markets.  Also, that this could be a roll up vehicle.  Probably just the press not knowing what they are talking about and making up some link to emerging markets because Lemann is from Brazil.

  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

Very interesting. I think it would be naive to think Buffett was caught offguard by this. That said, I wonder what his endgame is...

Posted

Ohh, well... I wonder if this was anticipated, it must be about quite some ketchup per year:

McDonalds ends relationship with Heinz.

 

As of Heinz's last 10-K Walmart was the only customer that accounted for more than 10% of sales. Also according to The Post the relationship was small at least domestically. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/10/28/the-ketchup-wars-mcdonalds-wont-serve-heinz-anymore/

 

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