I am quoted in a Smith Brain Trust article (Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland) on possible takeover targets for Kraft Heinz Co (NASDAQ:KHC). After withdrawing its offer for Unilever (LON:ULVR), Kraft Heinz may be considering the acquisition of Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ) or Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL).
Colgate-Palmolive: The New York-based Colgate-Palmolive is smaller global player in household and personal care products and may have plenty to offer Kraft Heinz.
It doesn’t have as many brands as Proctor & Gamble, but Colgate-Palmolive, with its namesake toothpaste, dish soap and other consumer products has a strong global presence. In fact, most of its business is outside of the U.S. “Colgate is very big in Latin America and that’s a whole new market that’s growing,” Kass says.
Among its other virtues, Kass says, is its size. Colgate-Palmolive, with its a market capitalization of only about $68 billion, would be “more acquirable.”
In fact, Colgate-Palmolive’s stock surged Friday morning on news about a potential Kraft Heinz and Unilever deal. Investors were betting that Unilever, perhaps looking to avoid a takeover, might look to merge with Colgate-Palmolive as a white knight, making it more difficult and more costly for Kraft Heinz to make a deal.
And the stock has only added to those gains this week, on news that the Unilever deal wasn’t meant to be. “Colgate,” Kass says, “makes sense.”
An alternative play: Kass says Kraft Heinz might play it safe and stick to its earlier script of acquiring another food company. If so, Mondelez International, the Illinois-based multinational snacks and beverage brand that was spun off from the current Kraft Foods (NASDAQ:KHC) in 2012, would be a likely candidate, he says
The company, with brands such as Oreo, Chips Ahoy!, Triscuit, Nabisco, Milka, Toblerone, Cadbury, Trident, Dentyne, and Tang powdered drinks, has a presence in about 165 countries, giving Kraft Heinz the geographical reach it needs. Mondelez has a market capitalization of about $68 billion.