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Ketchup’s $143 Billion Play To Buy Mayo Fails

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Robert Donachie Capitol Hill and Health Care Reporter
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Kraft Heinz Ketchup Co. withdrew its $143 billion bid to purchase competitor Unilever PLC Sunday afternoon, after Unilever made it clear the price tag was too low.

Kraft announced its intent to purchase Unilever at a public press conference Friday afternoon. If it went through, the merger would have created one of the world’s largest packaged-food companies, The Wall Street Journal reports.

In a short press release Sunday, Kraft’s leadership said it had “amicably agreed to withdraw its proposal.” The decision to abort the merger may come as a surprise to few, after Unilever made it publicly known Friday that Kraft’s offer significantly undervalued the company.  A Kraft’s spokesperson told reporters that the announcement was made at an “extremely early stage.”

Unilever’s leadership was reportedly harboring its own concerns about the merger. Namely that it felt the two company’s business models were vastly different, and any attempts to effectively synergize the firms may be met with significant obstacles. Furthermore, the firm states its growth is largely due to its investments in home and personal-care services, which Kraft does not have.

Despite this setback, analysts still believe that Kraft is in the market for acquisitions in hopes of breathing new life into the firm, The New York Post reports.

The proposed merger brings to light a trend among large-scale food producers around the world. As consumers are choosing to purchase fresher foods, like locally-produced Organic options, large food producers are having to figure out ways to cut costs and tap into new markets.

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