Mar 16, 2017
Unilever investors favoured talks with Kraft Heinz
Unilever should have held talks with Kraft Heinz instead of sharply rejecting the $143bn bid that led to the speedy withdrawal of the US food group, according to a majority of its shareholders surveyed by a brokerage. According to the poll conducted by Bernstein, published on Thursday, 53 per cent of Unilever shareholders surveyed said they would have liked the Anglo-Dutch owner of Axe deodorants and Magnum ice cream to have negotiated with Kraft Heinz. Bernstein surveyed 96 investors, of whom 74 identified themselves as Unilever shareholders. One large shareholder told the Financial Times: "There's a big gap between Unilever's existing cost programme and what the Kraft plan would have been. So we need to see some pretty compelling targets about what they can achieve; anything less and the market will put pressure back on Unilever." Mr Wood said: "Overall, many investors now require a strong improvement in the share price, to compensate for Unilever's refusal to engage with Kraft Heinz, and for the lost premium."
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