卡夫亨氏放棄收購聯(lián)合利華

Kraft Heinz, the Warren Buffett-backed US food group, has dropped its $143bn pursuit of consumer products rival Unilever, only two days after publicly confirming its interest in acquiring the Anglo-Dutch rival.

沃倫•巴菲特(Warren Buffett)持股的美國食品集團(tuán)卡夫亨氏(Kraft Heinz)放棄了以1430億美元收購其消費(fèi)品競爭對手聯(lián)合利華(Unilever)的計劃，兩天前卡夫剛公開確認(rèn)收購這家英荷競爭對手的興趣。

Kraft Heinz said in a joint statement with Unilever that it had “amicably agreed to withdraw its proposal for a combination of the two companies”.

卡夫亨氏在與聯(lián)合利華發(fā)表的聯(lián)合聲明中表示，“友好地同意收回兩家公司合并的提議”。

A takeover would have created the world’s second-largest consumer goods group by sales, combining brands such as Kraft Mac & Cheese and Heinz Tomato Ketchup with Unilever’s Dove soap and Magnum ice cream.

若該收購交易得以完成，將締造全世界銷售額第二大消費(fèi)品集團(tuán)，使得Kraft Mac & Cheese和亨氏番茄醬(Heinz Tomato Ketchup)與聯(lián)合利華的多芬(Dove)香皂以及夢龍(Magnum)冰激凌等品牌結(jié)合在一起。

The companies said: “Unilever and Kraft Heinz hold each other in high regard. Kraft Heinz has the utmost respect for the culture, strategy and leadership of Unilever.”

兩家公司稱：“聯(lián)合利華和卡夫亨氏彼此高度尊重。卡夫亨氏極為尊重聯(lián)合利華的文化、戰(zhàn)略和領(lǐng)導(dǎo)力。”

The announcement came after a report in FT Alphaville on Friday forced Kraft Heinz to confirm it had approached Unilever about a combination to create a juggernaut in packaged foods and household items.

此前，上周五FT Alphaville博客上的一篇報道使得卡夫亨氏不得不確認(rèn)了就合并計劃(將打造包裝食品和家居用品方面的巨無霸)接洽聯(lián)合利華的情況。

Kraft Heinz said in a separate statement that its “interest was made public at an extremely early stage. Our intention was to proceed on a friendly basis, but it was made clear Unilever did not wish to pursue a transaction.”

卡夫亨氏在另一份聲明中表示，“收購意向在非常早期的階段被公開。我們的意圖是在友好基礎(chǔ)上推進(jìn)，但聯(lián)合利華表明不希望進(jìn)行交易。”

It added: “It is best to step away early so both companies can focus on their own independent plans to generate value. We remain focused on driving long-term value while always putting our consumers first.”

該公司補(bǔ)充稱：“最好盡早放棄，這樣兩家公司都可以專注于各自創(chuàng)造價值的計劃。我們?nèi)匀粚Ｗ⒂谕苿娱L期價值，同時一如既往地把消費(fèi)者放在首位。”

Two people close to the talks said Warren Buffett and 3G Capital’s Jorge Paulo Lemann, Heinz Kraft’s main shareholders, decided on Sunday morning to withdraw the bid after they concluded that a protracted public battle to take over Unilever would have caused more damage than good.

接近有關(guān)談判的兩名知情人士稱，卡夫亨氏的主要股東沃倫•巴菲特和3G資本(3G Capital)的豪爾赫•保羅•萊曼(Jorge Paulo Lemann)于周日早上決定放棄此次競標(biāo)，此前他們得出結(jié)論，為收購聯(lián)合利華進(jìn)行漫長的公開角力弊大于利。