US billionaire investor acquires stake in Kraft Foods

Berkshire Hathaway, the holding company controlled by US billionaire Warren Buffett, acquired an 8.6% stake in Kraft Foods worth $4.32 billion (£2.19 billion), making him the company’s largest individual shareholder.

Kraft’s best-known products include eponymous cheese, Maxwell House coffee and Oreo cookies.

It was also been unveiled that Mr Buffett has spent $76 million on shares in pharmaceutical giant, GlaxoSmithKline.

Mr Buffett’s investments are closely watched by analysts.

Jerry Bruni, a portfolio manager at J.V. Bruni and Co in Colorado Springs, Colorado, said he likes brand names with good franchises and clearly Kraft has a number of those.

His investment in Kraft is being seen as a vote of confidence in the firm, which last month reported a 6% decline in quarterly profits after it was hit by higher raw material costs.

Mr Buffett is often referred to as the ‘Oracle of Omaha’. In April 2007, he was ranked by Forbes as the third-richest person in the world. Last year, he was listed among Time’s 100 Most Influential People in The World.

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