3G Capital, the investment firm controlled by Brazilian billionaires Jorge Paulo Lemann, Marcel Herrmann Telles and Carlos Alberto Sicupira, is in advanced talks to set up a new fund to invest in the food and beverage industry, and possibly to acquire a company, according to Geraldo Samor, a business columnist at Veja magazine, Brazil's leading weekly news magazine.
Sources told Samor that the strategists at 3G have contacted private banking managers who serve some of the richest families in Brazil as well as contacting the country's leading investment banks. According to Samor, two people with knowledge of the situation said that the new fund will have a total capital between $4 billion and $5 billion, $2.5 billion of which have already been received as financial commitments.
The new fund could possibly be used to orchestrate the takeover of
The acquisition of Coca-Cola would come at a time when the current management at the company is under attack from a group of shareholders who accuse its board of directors of creating a situation of low returns and excessive expenses. 3G is known for applying to its businesses a system of meritocracy and relentless cost-cutting.
There is still another possibility, which is the acquisition of a significant stake of Coca-Cola, around 10%, according to Samor. Buffett's Berkshire-Hathaway, which already owns 9.7% of the company, could come in as a partner once again.
Buffett told CNBC early last year that Lemann, Telles and Sicupira "are the best operators in the world," and that he is "ready to make bigger deals" with them.
FORBES pegs Lemann’s net worth currently at $22.4 billion, while Telles is worth an estimated $11.6 billion and Sicupira, $10.2 billion. Alexandre Behring, who is the managing director of 3G Capital Ltd., owns a minority stake in the company. He does not appear on the Forbes billionaires list.