Market watchers have dubbed interest in Kraft 's IPO "curiously strong" considering the general malaise surrounding food stocks on Wall Street. Controlled by tobacco giant Phillip Morris since 1998, Kraft is hoping to launch the third largest IPO in US history when it floats up to 20% of its stock for up to US$5bn late next month, and analysts are welcoming a confident performance at a time when other food giants are riding a wave of consolidation in a bid to remove themselves from the public market and raise more capital through cost-saving mergers and synergies.