At the announcement of the deal to acquire Heinz, the venerable Warren Buffett had stamped his approval with then CEO Bill Johnson. He said in an interview with CNBC, "I think Bill Johnson has done a very good job of running the company."
Two months later, Johnson is replaced by Bernardo Hees as Heinz CEO. This was the decision reached by the partnership of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and 3G, the Brazilian buyout firm. Hees is the current CEO of Burger King and would become CEO at Heinze upon completion of the takeover.
The deal is a clear deviation from Berkshire Hathaway's known plan of purchasing low, use cash for acquisitions and retain current management. Now, the deal is making both Buffett and 3G pay out twenty times the earnings of Heinz when profits are only growing at 6% annually. Consequently, the deal doubles the debt of Heinz and management has been replaced.
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