Warren Buffett's successor speaks: Berkshire Hathaway will not adjust its stake in Kraft Heinz(KHC.US) for now and supports the company's shift toward product and pricing investments

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A.US, BRK.B.US) CEO Abel said that after Kraft Heinz (KHC.US) paused its spin-off plans, the company currently has no intention of making any immediate adjustments to its holdings.

Previously, Kraft Heinz CEO Steve Cahillane suddenly announced last month that the company would pause its plan to split its business into two separate companies. Instead, the company will invest about $600 million to develop new products and lower prices on some products to boost sales growth. The decision initially caught the market off guard and added another twist to Kraft Heinz’s strategic adjustments in recent years.

Kraft Heinz’s story dates back to roughly a decade ago. At the time, under the leadership of Berkshire’s former CEO Buffett, Kraft Foods and Heinz completed a merger transaction worth about $46 billion. However, the deal did not deliver the returns investors had hoped for. Since the merger, the company’s stock price has continued to decline, and its long-term performance has clearly lagged behind the market.

Against the backdrop of Kraft Heinz’s previous discussions about splitting its business, a registration filing submitted by Berkshire in January this year showed that the company was seeking to sell its remaining stake of about 28% in Kraft Heinz. At the time, the market widely interpreted this as Berkshire possibly gradually exiting what had been viewed as a classic consumer-staples investment deal.

However, as Kraft Heinz’s management changed its strategic direction, Berkshire’s stance has become more cautious. In an interview, Abel said that Cahillane’s latest decision was “absolutely the right way to do it.”

Abel explained that Berkshire’s prior registration statement was mainly intended to “get prepared,” so that if the company decided to sell its shares in the future, the process could proceed smoothly—but this did not mean the company would take action immediately.

“We file registration documents only to ensure that, if there is a plan to sell in the future, we will have the necessary conditions. But that does not mean we will take any immediate action right now,” Abel said.

Analysts believe that Kraft Heinz’s strategy of increasing product innovation and adjusting prices shows the company is trying to reactivate growth momentum in a fiercely competitive food industry. For Berkshire, a long-term shareholder, keeping its stake unchanged in the near term also means it is still watching whether the company’s strategic adjustments can lead to improved performance.