Kraft Foods Group and HJ Heinz, two of America’s most iconic food companies, are set to be merged.

The new entity, to be named the Kraft Heinz Company, would become the third largest food company in the US and the fifth largest in the world.

3G Capital, a Brazilian private equity firm, is understood to be in advanced talks to acquire Kraft Foods and will merge it with Heinz, which it acquired two years ago when it teamed up with Berkshire Hathaway.

The new company estimates revenues of $28bn.