Kraft Boosts Price Of Planned IPO

Kraft Foods Inc., the maker of Kraft cheese, Oscar Mayer hot dogs and Oreos, boosted the price tag on its spinoff from Philip Morris to $8.7 billion on Wednesday, setting the stage for the second-largest new stock offering in U.S. history.

The food giant, based in Northfield Lake, Ill., said it would offer 280 million shares in an initial public offering at $26 to $31 a share. The deal, expected by June 30, could raise $7.3 billion to $8.7 billion.

When Kraft first filed to go public in March it said it hoped to raise as much as $5 billion. Even at the low end of the revised price range Kraft would still be the second-largest U.S. IPO, after last year’s $10.6-billion AT&T; Wireless IPO.