Kraft CEO not concerned by Buffett share cut

28 May 2010 – Kraft Food’s CEO Irene Rosenfeld says she is not concerned by top investor Warren Buffett reducing his shares in the company, after the takeover of Cadbury and selling of Kraft’s frozen pizza business to Nestle.

In an interview with Reuters, Rosenfeld notes that the integration of Cadbury is on track and benefits from the $18.4 billion deal will become clear to shareholders. She adds that the planned sale of Cadbury’s Polish and Romanian businesses is also likely to happen in the next six months, and there are a number of interested buyers.

"I will say that for Mr Buffett as well as for all our shareholders, in the coming months we will continue to deliver against the targets we have laid for ourselves. These results will speak for themselves," Rosenfeld says.

Kraft bought Cadbury earlier this year after a hostile takeover battle that tested Rosenfeld’s leadership and created the world’s largest confectionery group.

Buffett has criticised Rosenfeld for acquiring Cadbury and selling the frozen pizza business, reportedly saying that Kraft paid too much for Cadbury.

As of March 31, Buffett’s company Berkshire owned 106.73 million Kraft shares with a value of approximately $3.23 billion, 31.54 million fewer than the 138.27 million it owned three months earlier. At one point, Berkshire was Kraft’s largest shareholder, with a 9.4% stake in the business.