NEW YORK, July 11 (Xinhua) -- U.S.-based multinational food company Kraft Heinz is preparing to break itself up, a decade after a merger of two of the biggest names in packaged foods that was orchestrated by U.S. investor and philanthropist Warren Buffett and Brazilian private-equity firm 3G Capital, The Wall Street Journal said Friday.
The company is planning to spin off a large chunk of its grocery business, including many Kraft products, into a new entity that could be valued at as much as 20 billion U.S. dollars on its own, The Wall Street Journal said. That would leave the company housing goods such as Heinz's namesake ketchup and Dijon mustard brand Grey Poupon.
"The company has given priority to its faster-growing offerings like hot sauces, dressings and condiments, which are more in line with consumer preferences than processed lunch meats and cheeses," noted the report. It hopes the two separate units would be in total worth more than Kraft Heinz's roughly 31 billion dollars of market value.
A split could be finalized in the coming weeks, according to the report. However, Kraft Heinz has discussed other scenarios with its advisers, and its board has not signed off on a final decision. The company is also working through exactly which brands would be part of the spun-out entity.
