Shares in several U.S. food companies traded higher on Tuesday, after a report that Brazilian private equity firm 3G Capital Inc. is trying to raise between $8bn and $10bn to finance a new acquisition in the consumer goods sector.
The website Brazil Journal cited sources close to 3G as saying that a minimum of 10 local investors have committed at least $100m each to the new fund.
The market has speculated that 3G might now have its sights set on Mondalez International, the maker of Oreo cookies and Cadbury chocolates, according to the Brazil Journal. However, the report said 3G Capital has not identified a potential target.
A representative for 3G Capital did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mondelez shares were up 2% in late afternoon trading, while shares in General Mills, Kellogg and ConAgra Foods were also trading higher on news of the report.
Jorge Paulo Lemann, the founder of 3G and Brazil’s richest man, teamed up with Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway to buy ketchup maker H.J. Heinz Co. for $23.2bn in 2013.
Brazil Journal reported that an acquisition could be handled through Kraft Heinz. Last year, 3G and Berkshire Hathaway orchestrated a deal to merge Kraft Foods and Heinz. Also among 3G’s notable deals was the 2014 deal to merge the US fast food company Burger King, which 3G had acquired, with Canadian-based doughnut and coffee chain Tim Hortons. Other leading principals in 3G Capital include Carlos Alberto Sicupira and Marcel Telles.