Kraft Foods surges 17% on WSJ report of takeover talks with 3G

[SAN FRANCISCO] Kraft Foods surged 17 per cent in extended New York trading after the Wall Street Journal reported that the maker of Velveeta and Jell-O is in talks to be acquired by Jorge Paulo Lemann's 3G Capital.

Kraft jumped to US$71.65 at 7:45 pm in New York after closing at US$61.33 in regular trading. The Northfield, Illinois- based company had declined 2.1 per cent this year before the Wall Street Journal report.

3G, a Brazilian private-equity firm, is negotiating to acquire Kraft in a deal that would probably be valued at more than US$40 billion, the newspaper reported, citing a person familiar with the matter it didn't identify.

Kraft has been an independent company since October 2012, when it split with Mondelez International Inc. While Kraft has a stable of household brands, it has struggled to maintain growth. Tony Vernon stepped down as chief executive officer in December and was succeeded by Chairman John Cahill.

BLOOMBERG