Earlier last week, the world’s most popular brand of ketchup was purchased by investors Warren Buffet and Jorge Lemann for a staggering $23 billion. Even for these two wealthy individuals, $23 billion is no drop in the bucket, but Heinz is more than just your typical fly-by-night company. The company has worked hard to make a name for themselves as the best-selling and most popular brand of ketchup in the world. Here we’ll take a closer look at the recent Heinz buyout and reveal what’s in store for ketchup maker now that it’s owned by Buffet and Lemann.
At $23 billion, the Heinz deal went down as one of the largest food industry purchases in history. To put things into perspective on just how popular Heinz is, look no further than their annual sales of ketchup. As of 2012, the company sold approximately 650 million bottles of ketchup, most of which are priced around $3-5 a piece. Of course another huge chunk of Heinz’ revenue comes from their sales of small individual ketchup packets, which are used by fast food restaurants and diners. They typically sell and ship several million cases of these packs to food businesses throughout the world.
It’s important to note that Buffet and Lemann didn’t “personally” buyout Heinz, but rather their companies did. Berkshire Hathaway is the name of Buffet’s investment company, and 3G Capital is Lemann’s company. These two companies have recently been quite activity in the financial markets, as they’ve performed several notable buyouts.
Warren Buffet is 82 years, but that’s not stopping him from continuing his pursuit of happiness and following his dreams. Some financial analysts predict he’s worth an estimated $46 billion. Even with such a large fortune, Buffet is known for his generosity and giving attitude, as he frequently donates large sums to charities.
If you’ve ever wondered what the “57” logo stands for on a bottle of Heinz ketchup, let me explain – when the brand originated back in 1869, they boated the fact that they offered 57 different varieties of ketchup. While most people stick with the traditional flavored ketchup, you can still find these other varieties around if you look hard enough.
It’s unclean what, if any, changes to Heinz will be made now that it’s controlled by Buffet and Lemann. They’ve been running a successful business for such a long period, the two investors may decide to leave it alone and allow it to run its course.