Trian's Peltz started building new stake in undisclosed company: CNBC

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nelson Peltz, the billionaire head of activist hedge fund Trian Fund Management, told CNBC on Monday that his firm began building a new position in a company about two weeks ago, but could not disclose the name of the company.

"We've started buying about two weeks ago. We of course can't announce it now. We've bought quite a bit of stock and we've got quite a bit more to buy," Peltz said. Peltz's firm often pushes for change at companies in which it invests.

In response to speculation about a potential merger between Oreo cookies maker Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ: MDLZ) and Heinz ketchup maker Kraft Heinz Co (NASDAQ: KHC), Peltz said Mondelez was "doing a great job on their own." Peltz is a Mondelez board member.

With regard to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's policies, and Trump's accusation that Mondelez has shipped jobs overseas, Peltz said that 75 percent of Mondelez's sales are done outside of the United States, and that there was "no way" that Mondelez would not have employees in foreign countries.

He said, however, that if Trump's tax plan succeeded, it would lead to more companies returning to the United States and higher employment. Trump put forth sweeping proposals in September to simplify the tax code and slash the corporate tax rate to 15 percent, cutting the top rate for all businesses from the present 35 percent.

(Reporting by Sam Forgione and Michael Flaherty; Editing by Franklin Paul)

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