Is Ferrero still sweet on Cadbury?
Ferrero, the famous Italian chocolate group, is still said to be sweet on UK confectionery giant Cadbury despite the company being fairly quiet over the last few weeks. While the speculation of late has been on Kraft foods, which has tabled a £10 billion offer, and US outfit Hershey, it would appear that Ferrero is making noises in the market to suggest it is not yet out of the running. So what next?
As we move into 2010 there is every chance we will see a number of potential bidders joining the fray for Cadbury as the company is most certainly in play. In public the Cadbury directors are adamant they can remain an independent operation while in private many believe they are talking to would-be bidders about acceptable offers. Even though Kraft Foods is the only company with a bid on the table at the moment, many believe that the likes of Hershey and even Ferrero are the preferred bidders of the Cadbury directors.
It will be interesting to see if Ferrero and Hershey do put together rival offers for Cadbury and indeed whether these will be acceptable to Cadbury shareholders. Those who are expecting an auction for the company may be disappointed as analysts believe any offer in excess of eight pounds a share has a reasonable chance of success.
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