Deals
Buffett’s Ketchup Fancy Plies Heinz With Junk: Corporate Finance
This article is for subscribers only.
Billionaire Warren Buffett’s love of ketchup and hash browns is transforming H.J. Heinz Co. into the most-leveraged food maker in America.
Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and 3G Capital Inc.’s $23 billion acquisition of Heinz may double the company’s total debt to five times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, according to Fitch Ratings, the highest of any comparable food company. The cost to protect Heinz’s debt from losses soared to a record after the announcement.