Is Hershey on the verge of bidding for Cadbury?
The American press is today full of rumours regarding a potential Hershey bid for Cadbury which many believe should be forthcoming in the short term. The understanding amongst markets informants is that the company is currently looking towards making an offer but is weighing up the potential impact on the company's investment grade credit rating. However, sources believe that directors at Hershey are almost certainly going to announce an offer for Cadbury and we should see some movement this week.
It is highly likely that if Hershey was to make an offer for Cadbury it would look towards some kind of formal agreement with the Cadbury board to make the process as painless as possible. It is believed that Cadbury would prefer to work with Hershey in the future, if independence is taken away, but at this moment in time everything is in the melting pot.
Only last week we saw Lord Mandelson enter the fray, even if a somewhat misinformed entry by all accounts, suggesting that those looking to acquire Cadbury on the "cheap" should think again and will be rebuked. In reality, the UK government has no scope to reject or block an offer for Cadbury on price alone and can only rule on competition issues.
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