Kraft Foods Inc. is an American multinational confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer,Philadelphia, Trident, Tang.Forty of its brands are at least a century old.The company is headquartered in Northfield, Illinois, a Chicago suburb.Its European headquarters is in Glattpark, Opfikon, Switzerland, near Zürich.Kraft is an independent public company; it is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and became a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average on September 22, 2008, replacing the American International Group.In August 2011, the company announced plans to split into a North American grocery business and a faster-growing global snacks company.The name Mondelēz International Inc. has been proposed to the shareholders for approval in early 2012.
History
The firm now known as Kraft Foods has its origin as National Dairy Products Corporation, formed on December 10, 1923, by Thomas H. McInnerney.The firm was initially set up to execute on a rollup strategy in the then fragmented United States ice cream industry. Through acquisitions it expanded into a full range of dairy products. By 1930, eight years after it was founded, it was the largest dairy company in the United States and the world, exceeding Borden.McInnerney operated the Hydrox Corporation, an ice cream company located in Chicago, Illinois. In 1923 he went to Wall Street to convince investment bankers there to finance his scheme for consolidating the United States ice cream industry. He initially found "hard sledding" with one banker saying the dairy industry "lacked dignity." He persevered and convinced a consortium including Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers to finance a roll-up strategy.As a result of his efforts, National Dairy Products Corporation was formed in 1923 in a merger of McInnerney's Hydrox with Rieck McJunkin Dairy Co of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The resulting firm was then listed on the New York Stock Exchange with the offer of 125,000 shares having been oversubscribed.The firm grew quickly through a large number of acquisitions. As is typical in a roll-up strategy, acquisitions were primarily for stock in National rather than cash. Examples of firms acquired include: (list is not complete - National acquired more than 55 firms between 1923 and 1931).
Operating income $ 6.657 billion (2011)
Total assets $ 93.837 billion (2011)