With Kraft splitting into two publicly traded companies later this year, shareholders have finally settled on a name for the global brands wing of the food company. More than 90 per cent voted in favour of "Mondelez International", which will take effect upon the spin-off of the company’s North American grocery business.
Cadbury, Oreo, Tang and Nabisco, among others, will fall under the Mondelez umbrella; the US wing will retain the Kraft name.
Irene Rosenfeld, chairman and CEO of Kraft Foods, said:
Mondelez has an appealing international sound that perfectly evokes the idea of a "delicious world". That’s the essence of our global snacks company.
The company has reserved the symbol "MDLZ" for the company’s common stock, which will trade under this new symbol after the spin-off. The stock symbol for the North American grocery company will be KRFT. Until the new companies launch, however, the name and stock trading symbol for Kraft Foods Inc will not change.
According to Kraft, the name change will not in any way affect the validity or transferability of any currently outstanding stock certificates. The company will not ask shareholders to surrender for exchange any Kraft Foods Inc certificates that they currently hold.
On 18 May 2012, the company received a favourable ruling from the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) confirming the tax-free status of the planned spin-off of its North American grocery business and certain related internal reorganisation transactions.
Kraft Foods’ board has declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.29 per common share of class A stock. This dividend is payable on 16 July, to stockholders of record as of 29 June.