Nelson Peltz reports stakes in Mondelez, PepsiCo; shares up

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Trian said it had acquired 19.4 million shares of Mondelez, representing a 1.09 per cent stake, and about 3.9 million, or 0.25 per cent, of PepsiCo's shares. (Pic by AFP)

Activist investor Nelson Peltz purchased stakes in US packaged food companies Mondelez International Inc and PepsiCo Inc, worth a little more than $900 million, a regulatory filing on Friday showed.

The filing by Trian Fund Management L.P., Peltz's investment vehicle, confirmed a report in March by Britain's Daily Telegraph that the investor had bought stakes in the companies. The report had speculated that Peltz might push for a merger of the two.

Trian said it had acquired 19.4 million shares of Mondelez, representing a 1.09 per cent stake, and about 3.9 million, or 0.25 per cent, of PepsiCo's shares.

The investor had reported a stake in PepsiCo in late 2011, a time when there was a lot of market speculation over whether the maker of Tropicana juice, Frito-Lay snacks and Quaker oatmeal was worth more broken up or together.

PepsiCo's share price had been stagnant for about five years and its North American drinks business was losing share to that of Coca-Cola.

Peltz later sold off the stake. Friday's regulatory filing disclosed his positions in the two companies as of Dec. 31, 2012.

PepsiCo told Reuters it had held meetings with Trian in recent weeks to discuss their ideas and initiatives "to drive long term growth and shareholder value".
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