Is Cadbury out of the woods yet?
The chairman of Cadbury has today ridiculed the takeover offer from Kraft Foods as "in contempt of the markets expressed view" as he fires the first shot in a war which is set to go on for some time. With the Cadbury share price well above the Kraft Foods offer price it seems almost certain that either Kraft Foods will increase its offer or a third party will show their hand. So what next?
Now that the takeover and merger timetable is ticking there are certain points in the future which will become ever more important with regards to increased offers and acceptances. Most analysts believe that a merged Cadbury and Kraft Foods would make a perfect fit, allowing Cadbury more access to US markets and bringing Kraft Foods to the UK and Europe. Whether the Cadbury management appreciate this and are just holding out for the best price or whether they do actually believe the company would be better off independent remains to be seen.
One slight disappointment with regards to the UK market and takeovers and mergers has been the lack of follow-through in different areas of the UK business arena where a number of potential takeovers and mergers have been rumoured but yet to emerge.
Share this..
Related stories
Women rare on boards of smaller firms
Female executives are less likely to be appointed to the board of an Alternative Investment Market-listed (AIM) company than a larger FTSE 350 firm, according to a survey by professional services group Deloitte. Research by Deloitte shows that women make up only three per cent of AIM company boardrooms compared to ten per cent in the FTSE 100. The AIM, a submarket of the London Stock Exchange (LSE...
Read MoreUK banks forced to sign up to new tax code
UK banks are this evening under severe pressure from UK government to sign up to a voluntary tax code which would see various sanctions if any of the UK banking community are found to have made use of schemes to reduce their tax liabilities. While has been little comment from UK banking industry as a whole it seems that the UK government is trying to railroad UK financial companies into signing up...
Read MoreIs Hershey talking to Nestlé regarding Cadbury offer?
There is speculation in the weekend press that American outfit Hershey is looking to tie-up with Nestlé in a potential consortium bid for Cadbury. While there has been much speculation about the future of Cadbury, with Kraft Foods and the only company to put down a firm offer as yet, the name Nestlé is a new entry to the saga which is now set to come to boiling point in the short term. It...
Read MoreCan Lloyds bank really shake off the UK government?
The proposed £10 billion rights issue by Lloyds bank is perhaps one of the worst kept secrets in the city although there is some confusion today as to whether influential shareholders have been approached about their support. It looks as though Lloyds bank is prepared to do whatever it takes to shake off the UK government and ensure that the UK government shareholding does not increase over the 5...
Read MoreFTSE 100 set for new record winning streak
Today's rise of 9.52 points in the FTSE 100 index, which now stands at 4586.13, was the 11th consecutive rise in the index which equals the record. If the index was to end in positive territory tomorrow this would be an all-time record 12 consecutive days of increases. But what is actually pushing the index ahead?
There is no doubt that the last couple of weeks have seen a gradual i...