Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund Management bought US$3.7 billion shares from Mondelez International and PepsiCo, according to sources that have knowledge of the investment.
The investment of Mr. Peltz had caused speculation that he might be looking to hold a position at the board of directors of both companies. Being known for his activist initiatives, these recent acquisitions of Mr. Peltz made people wonder if he will be pushing Pepsi for a spin off with its Frito Lay division and merge it with Mondelez as the later spun off from Kraft.
Last Friday, Pepsico divulged that meetings were held with Trian but no discussions in the meeting were divulged. Both companies are known to have famous brands of snack food and the merger of the snack brands already generating revenue can result to higher revenue. Toblerone, Ritz and Oreo are some of the more famous snack brands owned by Mondelez.
Pepsi related in a statement, "In recent weeks, we have held meetings with Trian to discuss and consider their ideas and initiatives as part of our ongoing evaluation of all opportunities to drive long term growth and shareholder value. Trian is a respected investor, and we look forward to continuing constructive discussions with them."
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