Phillip Morris (now Altria) purchased the Kraft Corporation in 1988 for $12.5 billion as
Altria sought to diversify itself against anticipated declines in per capita consumption
of tobacco products. After purchasing Kraft, Altria took Kraft public through an Initial
Public Offering in 2001. Trading under the ticker KFT, the company boasts a market
capitalization in excess of $50 billion. In 2003, Altria announced that a spin off of Kraft
would occur, though a timeline was not set as Altria wished to settle its pending
tobacco litigation prior to releasing Kraft from its control. Altria currently owns 85% of
the common equity and nearly 98% of the voting rights of Kraft stock