The sale left him with a single consumer title, Video Review.
A sale, however, would leave just the bottling unit, the operation that has caught the attention of investors.
He said then the sale left New American debt free.
But the sale still leaves him as the largest shareholder by far, and his management firmly in place.
The sale leaves Kraft with little presence in the candy business.
The sale left only 14 municipal bus operators remaining in Britain.
The sale would leave the company with 132 magazines around the world, 32 of them in the United States.
The sale would leave Merrill with a 37.6 percent stake.
The bank says the sale would leave it owed $125m.
The officials also said the sale would leave the military too dependent on a foreign company for vital high-technology equipment.