Nelson Peltz of the watching-women-play-tennis-topless fame, is calling on Kraft to shed some driftwood after snapping up a 3% stake. (Operations he wants on the auction block include Post, maker of our favorite cereals, Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles.) Heartless.

Activist investor Nelson Peltz has acquired a 3% stake in Kraft Foods Inc. and plans to call on the food giant to sell its Post cereals and Maxwell House coffee businesses, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Mr. Peltz, who last year called on H.J. Heinz Co. to focus on its core ketchup business and won a seat on its board after a lengthy fight, plans to call for a similar focus at Kraft, this person said. Like Heinz, Kraft "is not a broken company, but a company that could do more with its brands," the person said.

Unlike at Heinz, Mr. Peltz doesn't have immediate plans to seek board seats. "If the company is willing to engage constructively with him, there will be no need for that to happen," the person said, citing Cadbury Schweppes PLC and Tiffany & Co. as examples of companies Mr. Peltz has recently prodded without getting into board-seat fights. Mr. Peltz's investment firm, Trian Fund Management LP, holds a 2.98% stake in Cadbury and a 5.54% stake in Tiffany.

Mr. Peltz also has been involved in hamburger chain Wendy's International Inc., where he called for the company to spin off its Tim Hortons coffee and doughnut chain, and successfully pushed to get three allies on Wendy's board. Recently, Wendy's said it will weigh a sale of the company, and Mr. Peltz is considered a likely bidder.

(Continue reading this story on Wall Street Journal)

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