Altria Group Reveals Details of Kraft Spin Off
Altria Group Inc. announces the distribution ratio for its previously announced spin off of Kraft Foods Inc. Altria shareholders received approximately 0.69 of a share of Kraft for each share of Altria common stock held. On March 30, Altria will distribute all of the shares of Kraft that it owns, representing approximately 88.9 percent of Kraft's outstanding shares as of the record date. Altria shareholders will receive cash in lieu of fractional shares for amounts of less than one Kraft share. As reported in Forbes, some analysts don't think that the Kraft spin off will be the end of restructuring for Altria, which wants to streamline operations and focus on tobacco-related products. One possibility would be to break up Philip Morris USA and Philip Morris International, which could provide value to shareholders.