Heinz merged with Kraft in 2015 to form The Kraft Heinz Company.
The transaction combined H.J. Heinz Company, the ketchup and condiments specialist, with Kraft Foods Group, whose brands included Kraft, Oscar Mayer, and Philadelphia. The companies’ boards agreed to the merger in 2015, with approval from shareholders and regulators. The combination was completed on July 2, 2015.
The new company was backed by the Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, which had acquired Heinz in 2013. The merger created one of the world’s largest food and beverage businesses, with major brands spanning ketchup, cheese, packaged meals, sauces, and processed meats.
The answer is sometimes confused because “Kraft” appears in the name of the resulting company. Kraft Foods Group was one merger partner, while Heinz was the condiment company named in the question. The deal did not mean that Heinz simply bought Kraft; it was structured as a merger, with ownership divided between the companies’ shareholders and leadership shared across the new enterprise.