Kraft Heinz turned down in €134bn Unilever mega offer

Kraft Heinz has made a $143bn (€134.5bn) offer for Unilever in what would be the largest-ever takeover in the food or beverage industry, opening a campaign to create a consumer-goods giant with household names from Dove soap to Heinz ketchup.

Unilever said yesterday it rejected the $50 a share proposal, comprising about two-thirds in cash and a third in new stock. The approach “fundamentally undervalues” the company, Unilever said, adding that it doesn’t see a basis for further discussions.

Kraft Heinz said earlier it would seek to gain an agreement on the terms of a transaction. Unilever shares surged as much as 15% to a record in London, valuing the maker of Hellmann’s mayonnaise at more than £113bn (€132bn).