Kraft Heinz Continues Pursuit of Unilever Merger

Chicago-based Kraft Heinz is reportedly continuing to pursue a merger with Unilever despite the U.K.-based company’s rejection of the $143 billion proposal.

Unilever said the offer “fundamentally undervalues” the company, according to a CNBC report.

"Unilever rejected the proposal, as it sees no merit, either financial or strategic, for Unilever's shareholders. Unilever does not see the basis for any further discussions," Unilever said in a statement, which noted the deal put an 18 percent premium on its share price.

That doesn’t appear to have deterred Kraft Heinz, which "look[s] forward to working to reach agreement on the terms of a transaction," the company said in the CNBC report, with a caveat: "There can be no certainty that any further formal proposal will be made to the board of Unilever or that an offer will be made at all."

Kraft Heinz was created two years ago with the summer 2015 merger of the two iconic food companies in a deal engineered by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, whose firm, Berkshire Hathaway, at the time owned H.J. Heinz as well as private equity firm 3G Capital, which backed the deal.