Kraft splits into two strong stocks

Article Excerpt

On October 1, 2012, the old Kraft Foods Inc. (old Nasdaq symbol KFT) broke itself into two publicly traded companies: Mondelez International and Kraft Foods Group. Kraft shareholders received one share of the new Kraft Foods Group for every three shares they held. This was a tax-free transaction: shareholders will not have to pay capital gains taxes until they sell their new shares. After the distribution, each old Kraft share became one Mondelez common share. Investors should allocate 64.91% of their adjusted cost base to Mondelez and the remaining 35.09% to Kraft Foods Group. Break-ups like this tend to work out well for investors, because the total value of the new companies usually exceeds the value of the former parent over time. We like the long-term outlook for both of these new companies. However, we prefer Kraft Foods Group for new buying. MONDELEZ INTERNATIONAL INC. $25 (Nasdaq symbol MDLZ; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 1.8 billion; Market cap: $45.0 billion; Price-to-sales…