Kraft (KFT) had hoped to win Wall Street's attention by pursuing Cadbury, but instead it has come across as wishy-washy in a bid that may never come to fruition.

And rather than growing, Kraft may actually be shrinking now that rumors are circulating that the company is shopping around its Maxwell House coffee brand. Obviously, a good company should be growing and not shrinking.

Next: Dog of the Dow #10: McDonald's (MCD)

Dog of the Dow #9: Kraft (KFT) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 13 Dec 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Will Kraft dump assets to sweeten the Cadbury bid?

Will Kraft dump assets to sweeten the Cadbury bid? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 15 Sep 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of a series on some of the most memorable companies that have disappeared.

The history of General Foods can be traced back to the Postum Cereal Company, founded by Charles William Post, inventor of Postum and Grape Nuts, in 1895. Wall Street player E.F. Hutton in time became the chairman, and he initiated a series of acquisitions beginning in 1925: Jell-O, Minute Tapioca, Log Cabin, Hellmann, Calumet Baking Powder, and Birdseye. It was after the Birdseye acquisition in 1929 that the food conglomerate became General Foods.

Among General Foods' many product offerings were Sanka decaffinated coffee and the astronaut's favorite, Tang. General Foods also continued to make acquisitions, including the makers of Kool-Aid in 1953, the Burger Chef restaurant chain in 1968, and Oscar Mayer in 1981.

But late in 1985, General Foods was itself acquired by Philip Morris Cos., which later became Altria Group (NYSE: MO), in the largest non-oil acquisition to date. When Philip Morris acquired Kraft in 1988, the two food companies were merged. In 2007, Altria spun off Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT), which now owns such former General Foods brands as Jell-O, Kool-Aid, and Maxwell House coffee. And it was announced in late 2007 that Post Cereals, including Grape Nuts, would be sold to Ralcorp Holdings (NYSE: RAH).

Continue reading Companies that vanished: General Foods gobbles up rivals, then gets gobbled

Companies that vanished: General Foods gobbles up rivals, then gets gobbled originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Jun 2008 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.

Drinkers of fine coffee may turn their noses up at Folgers or Maxwell House, but these two brands have been household names for decades. And they're not the just offering plain, old coffee for the commoners anymore. They've both added a variety of coffees to their product mixes in an effort to lure more upscale (picky? elitist?) coffee drinkers to their brands.

Folgers, one of the Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) family of products, has added roasts such as Black Silk, French Roast, Gourmet Supreme, and House Blend. They've also got a line of flavored coffees that include Crème Brulee, Vanilla Biscotti, and Caramel Drizzle. You will also find instant cappuccino in French Vanilla and Mocha Chocolate flavors, and the trusty old plain instant coffee is still available. I've had it, and it's not all that bad when you're in a pinch!

Continue reading Battle of the Brands: Folgers vs. Maxwell House

Battle of the Brands: Folgers vs. Maxwell House originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 04 May 2008 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Billionaire investor Nelson Peltz has acquired 3% of Kraft (NYSE: KFT) and will ask the company to sell Post Cereals and the Maxwell House coffee brand, according to a source.

Mr. Peltz has risen to number 278 on the Forbes list as one of the kings of the leveraged buyout business and, like Carl Icahn, has transformed himself into an activist investor, using proxy battles or the threat of proxy battles, to force companies to unlock value for shareholders.

One of his biggest coups was paying $300 million for Snapple in 1997 and flipping it three years later for five times that. More recently, he purchased a stake in Heinz (NYSE: HNZ), and pushed the company to cut costs, sell assets, and refocus on its core ketchup business.

Peltz's business savvy and large stake in the company make this great news for the company's investors. The stock soared yesterday after CNBC's David Faber reported that Peltz was targeting the company, and Goldman Sachs upped the stock from Sell to Neutral on the news and restructuring speculation.

While it's probably not a good idea to buy a stock just because an investment legend has, you could probably do a lot worse than following Peltz into Kraft. The shares have been stuck in a trading range for years now, and Peltz may just be the catalyst to help the company break out.

Billionaire acquires 3% stake in Kraft -- What's next? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 22 Jun 2007 11:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.