Reuters – Heinz Launches Syndication for $12B Buyout Deal

Ketchup maker H.J. Heinz Company has launched syndication of its $12 billion debt financing backing its buyout by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital, Reuters reported. JP Morgan and Wells Fargo are joint bookrunners on the deal and a number of banks joined the deal on a sub-underwriting basis including Banco do Brasil, Barclays, Citigroup, HSBC, Itau Unibanco, RBC and UBS among others, bankers said. Heinz will be bought for $72.50 a share, or $23.2 billion in cash. Including debt assumption, Heinz valued the deal at $28 billion, which it called the largest in food industry history.

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