{"id":829,"date":"2025-09-05T11:34:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T11:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sterlingcooper.info\/blog\/?p=829"},"modified":"2025-09-05T11:34:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T11:34:09","slug":"wall-street-loves-the-corporate-break-up-time-for-berkshire-hathaway-also","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sterlingcooper.info\/blog\/wall-street-loves-the-corporate-break-up-time-for-berkshire-hathaway-also\/","title":{"rendered":"WALL STREET LOVES THE CORPORATE BREAK UP, TIME FOR BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY ALSO?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"cover-wrap yf-1rjrr1\">\n<div class=\"cover-headline yf-1rjrr1\">\n<h1 class=\"cover-title yf-1rjrr1\">Wall Street is falling in love with the corporate breakup. Here&#8217;s why.<\/h1>\n<p><label class=\"type-ui-xxl-reg yf-gjjls9\"><\/label><\/div>\n<section class=\"tw-mb-8 tw-rounded-md tw-overflow-hidden yf-1oq9zk4 evp-docked-mode\" data-testid=\"video-player\">\n<div class=\"evp-main evp-docked evp-docked-fadein\" data-player-id=\"911d41ae-66b3-4662-8a9c-16e7f469162e\">\n<div class=\"evp-player\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"evp-docked-close-button\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"evp-docked-bg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"evp-docked-img\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/uu\/api\/res\/1.2\/uGVrZv0kXoUjAg0z5zEymg--~B\/Zmk9c3RyaW07aD00MjU7dz03NTY7c209MTthcHBpZD15dGFjaHlvbg--\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2025-09\/923eeaa0-880b-11f0-b718-97b82ac82dcc\" alt=\"Big Food company shake-ups: Is it time to invest?\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"evp-docked-overlay\">\n<div class=\"evp-docked-overlay-text\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"byline yf-1k5w6kz\">\n<div class=\"byline-attr yf-1k5w6kz\">\n<div class=\"byline-attr-logo yf-1k5w6kz\"><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"byline-attr-author yf-1k5w6kz\"><a class=\"primary-link fin-size-large noUnderline yf-1btaiiq\" href=\"https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/author\/david-hollerith\" target=\"_self\" data-ylk=\"elm:author;elmt:link;itc:0;slk:David%20Hollerith;sec:content-canvas\" data-rapid_p=\"3\" data-v9y=\"1\">David Hollerith <\/a> <span class=\"byline-attr-meta-separator yf-1k5w6kz\" data-svelte-h=\"svelte-1yy7aps\">\u00b7<\/span> Senior Reporter<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"byline-share yf-1k5w6kz\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"menuContainer  yf-1l5q6k1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"menuContainer  yf-1l5q6k1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"body yf-1ir6o1g\">\n<div class=\"atoms-wrapper\">\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">This year is turning out to be a big one for breakups.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">Whether by offloading a business unit, spinning out a corporate arm through an IPO, or carving up a Fortune 500 company, that means more fees for bankers and potentially improved returns for investors.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">Through the end of July, US firms announced $725 billion in corporate breakup deals this year, according to the most recent data from Dealogic. That&#8217;s a 48% jump from last year&#8217;s level of divestiture activity over the same period.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"atoms-wrapper\">\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">&#8220;There&#8217;s a lot of companies staring at their portfolios and wondering, &#8216;Am I the best owner for these assets?'&#8221; Kevin Desai, head of PwC&#8217;s deals team, said in an interview.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">Fodder for some of this year&#8217;s biggest splits: past mergers that no longer work. Those companies need a change, whether it&#8217;s to pay down debt, cut costs, or boost a lagging stock price, according to Desai.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">&#8220;You&#8217;re not getting credit for being a large, diversified conglomerate anymore,&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"yf-8xybrv\">\n<div class=\"image-container yf-1gfnohs\">\n<div class=\"image-wrapper yf-1gfnohs\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"yf-1gfnohs loaded\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/Qvnpkb2ZQY.Fg6k8XHbtGw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MA--\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2025-09\/f6f88160-89c1-11f0-bf77-bdb06bd2d728\" alt=\"Shareholders shop for discounted products at the Kraft Heinz booth at the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S., May 4, 2019.   REUTERS\/Scott Morgan\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"yf-8xybrv\">Big breakup: The Kraft Heinz booth at the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting in Omaha, Neb..\u00a0REUTERS \/ Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">Earlier this week, Kraft Heinz (<a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/quote\/KHC\/\" data-i13n=\"cpos:1;pos:1\" data-ylk=\"slk:KHC;cpos:1;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-rapid_p=\"18\" data-v9y=\"1\">KHC<\/a>) confirmed plans to end its megamerger consummated a decade ago that its largest shareholder, Warren Buffett, helped mastermind.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">Meanwhile, Keurig Dr Pepper (<a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/quote\/KDP\/\" data-i13n=\"cpos:2;pos:1\" data-ylk=\"slk:KDP;cpos:2;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-rapid_p=\"19\" data-v9y=\"1\">KDP<\/a>) unveiled plans to buy another coffeemaker, JDE Peets, for $22.7 billion, merging it with its coffee business to then spin out that entity via IPO.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">Chemical company DuPont (<a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/quote\/DD\/\" data-i13n=\"cpos:3;pos:1\" data-ylk=\"slk:DD;cpos:3;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-rapid_p=\"20\" data-v9y=\"1\">DD<\/a>) has agreed to sell its Kevlar and Nomex business to rival Arclin for $1.8 billion, the latest in its decade-long rightsizing effort.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">Warner Bros. Discovery (<a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/quote\/WBD\/\" data-i13n=\"cpos:4;pos:1\" data-ylk=\"slk:WBD;cpos:4;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-rapid_p=\"21\" data-v9y=\"1\">WBD<\/a>) <a class=\"link  yahoo-link\" href=\"https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/news\/warner-bros-discovery-stock-pops-as-company-confirms-it-will-split-into-2-companies-141412752.html\" data-i13n=\"cpos:5;pos:1\" data-ylk=\"slk:said it's ending its debt-saddled combo back in June;cpos:5;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" data-rapid_p=\"22\" data-v9y=\"1\">said it&#8217;s ending its debt-saddled combo back in June<\/a>, just three years after its merger.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">Over the first half of 2025, the average completed divestiture deal by US sellers, according to PwC data, has swelled to $512 million, more than twice the average for the same period over each of the past two years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">Some of the biggest separations have been within the food and beverage business, where executives and their boards are having to do some &#8220;<a class=\"link  yahoo-link\" href=\"https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/news\/big-food-companies-undergo-self-reflection-on-business-future-as-deals-sweep-the-sector-150004021.html\" data-i13n=\"cpos:6;pos:1\" data-ylk=\"slk:self-reflection;cpos:6;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" data-rapid_p=\"23\" data-v9y=\"1\">self-reflection<\/a>.&#8221; They are <a class=\"link  yahoo-link\" href=\"https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/news\/corporate-maneuverings-alone-cant-solve-the-problem-of-shifting-consumer-tastes-100037026.html\" data-i13n=\"cpos:7;pos:1\" data-ylk=\"slk:trying to adjust to shifting consumer tastes;cpos:7;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" data-rapid_p=\"24\" data-v9y=\"1\">trying to adjust to shifting consumer tastes<\/a> after years of higher grocery prices and a heightened aversion to processed foods.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">&#8220;We recognize that the complexity of the business was actually leading to not driving the type of performance that we wanted to get to,&#8221; Kraft Heinz CEO Carlos Abrams-Rivera <a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BrianSozzi\/status\/1962869953578619006\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-i13n=\"cpos:8;pos:1\" data-ylk=\"slk:told Yahoo Finance's Brian Sozzi;cpos:8;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-rapid_p=\"25\" data-v9y=\"1\">told Yahoo Finance&#8217;s Brian Sozzi<\/a>. The breakup separates the company&#8217;s slower-growing American food business (hot dogs) from its international condiments and sauces division (ketchup).<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">&#8220;It really has been a thorough review of what essentially was the premise that we believed that there was unlocked value in the company that wasn&#8217;t truly being assessed appropriately outside,&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"read-more-wrapper\" data-testid=\"read-more\">\n<figure class=\"yf-8xybrv\">\n<div class=\"image-container yf-1gfnohs\">\n<div class=\"image-wrapper yf-1gfnohs\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"yf-1gfnohs loaded\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/b10Y13A2yiWlBWzqWwt9tQ--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MA--\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2025-09\/519ba160-89c2-11f0-a6ef-117585e33a9c\" alt=\"FILE PHOTO: The Warner Bros logo is seen during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France, June 22, 2022.    REUTERS\/Eric Gaillard\/File Photo\" width=\"960\" height=\"640\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"yf-8xybrv\">Debt-saddled? The Warner Bros. Discovery logo is seen during the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France, on June 22, 2022. (Reuters\/Eric Gaillard\/File Photo) <span class=\"caption-separator yf-8xybrv\" data-svelte-h=\"svelte-nxhdlu\">\u00b7<\/span> Reuters \/ Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">Keurig Dr Pepper is planning a two-step deal. First, it will acquire European coffeemaker JDE Peets for $22.7 billion and combine the beverage company with its own coffee business. Second, it will spin out that entity through an IPO, the company said last week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">Jif peanut butter maker J.M. Smucker (<a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/quote\/SJM\" data-i13n=\"cpos:9;pos:1\" data-ylk=\"slk:SJM;cpos:9;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-rapid_p=\"27\" data-v9y=\"1\">SJM<\/a>) officially sold off two baked-good brands, Cloverhill and Big Texas, to JTM Foods for $40 million earlier this year. Those brands came with its $5.6 billion acquisition of Twinkie maker Hostess seven years ago.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wrapper yf-eondll\" data-testid=\"inarticle-ad\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">Sony plans to spin off its financial services arm through an IPO in late September.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">Major lender Citigroup (<a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/quote\/C\" data-i13n=\"cpos:10;pos:1\" data-ylk=\"slk:C;cpos:10;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-rapid_p=\"28\" data-v9y=\"1\">C<\/a>) plans to ready itself for a spin-off of its Mexico consumer bank, Banamex, by the end of the year, though market conditions and regulatory approvals could push that to 2026, CEO Jane Fraser told analysts in July.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">Longer-term stock underperformance compared to peers is one of the biggest reasons for a corporate split, and that can spur a need for action, especially when activist investors join the conversation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">Over the first half of 2025, the number of activist campaigns rose 16% compared to the five-year average. Compared to the past decade, activist investors waging campaigns have risen a sharper 44%, according to PwC.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">This week, Elliott Investment Management, one of the most successful Wall Street firms at waging activist campaigns, <a class=\"link  yahoo-link\" href=\"https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/news\/kraft-heinz-and-pepsico-enter-the-big-food-shake-up-zone-opening-bid-top-takeaway-144402997.html\" data-i13n=\"cpos:11;pos:1\" data-ylk=\"slk:took a stake in beverage giant PepsiCo;cpos:11;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" data-rapid_p=\"29\" data-v9y=\"1\">took a stake in beverage giant PepsiCo<\/a> (<a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/quote\/PEP\" data-i13n=\"cpos:12;pos:1\" data-ylk=\"slk:PEP;cpos:12;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-rapid_p=\"30\" data-v9y=\"1\">PEP<\/a>).<\/p>\n<div class=\"wrapper yf-eondll\" data-testid=\"inarticle-ad\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">The firm stopped short of calling for a divestment, but it has in past campaigns. US conglomerate Honeywell (<a class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/quote\/HON\/\" data-i13n=\"cpos:13;pos:1\" data-ylk=\"slk:HON;cpos:13;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-rapid_p=\"31\" data-v9y=\"1\">HON<\/a>) said earlier this year that it&#8217;s separating into three different companies, months after Elliott advocated for a breakup and disclosed a $5 billion stake in the firm.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yf-1090901\">Breakup activity, PwC&#8217;s Desai said, &#8220;will continue to pick up.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It is time to break up the failed conglomerate model that is holding back the value at Berkshire Hathaway as well!&#8221;, said c. Adam Jansen, CEO of consulting firm Sterling Cooper, Inc, www.sterlingcooper.info<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-830\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sterlingcooper.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Warren-Buffett-G.O.A.T.-award.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1131\" height=\"1600\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wall Street is falling in love with the corporate breakup. Here&#8217;s why. David Hollerith \u00b7 Senior Reporter This year is turning out to be a big one for breakups. Whether by offloading a business unit, spinning out a corporate arm through an IPO, or carving up a Fortune 500 company, that means more fees for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sterlingcooper.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sterlingcooper.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sterlingcooper.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sterlingcooper.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sterlingcooper.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=829"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.sterlingcooper.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":831,"href":"https:\/\/www.sterlingcooper.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/829\/revisions\/831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sterlingcooper.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sterlingcooper.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sterlingcooper.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}