Cadbury survives 2009 as an independent company
Iconic UK operation Cadbury may well have survived 2009 as an independent company put the chances of maintaining its independence in 2010 appear to be getting slimmer by the day. Recent comments by the company, suggesting they would prefer a merger with US outfit Hershey, give the impression that the directors of Cadbury are literally after the best offer and the best price for shareholders. In public they still maintain the company can remain independent but in private, along with many others, there are grave concerns about the future.
So far the US conglomerate Kraft Foods is the only company with a definitive offer on the table, of around £10 billion, but Cadbury believes that other companies are waiting in the wings and biding their time before launching a counter offer. Whether a counter offer does actually emerge remains to be seen but as we saw in 2008 and 2009, market conditions can change dramatically in a very short space of time and nothing should be taken for granted.
While a return to the credit crunch which began in 2007 remains unlikely, nothing can be discounted during this very difficult and very uncertain economic climate. Who knows what tomorrow brings, never mind next year!
Share this..
Related stories
Is the ECB looking for all-encompassing regulatory powers?
Despite Gordon Brown's denials last week that the ECB (European Central Bank) was looking to gain further control of local financial markets in Europe, a senior executive on the ECB board has today suggested there needs to be a major change in regulatory powers. Lorenzo Bini Smarghi is suggesting that the ECB, as the central European regulator, currently has little control over individual member s...
Read MoreGlossary of Investment Terms (M)
The following are useful investment terms beginning with ‘M’ Managed Fund A common investment vehicle, which is traditionally made up of a variety of specialised funds, allowing the investment managers to concentrate of the specific investment spread of the overall fund. Often referred to as an umbrella fund. Mandate In simple terms, this is the agree...
Read MoreHow would life be under an EU regulator?
As the EU looks to grab more and more power from the London financial markets many people are now starting to wonder exactly what life would be like under an EU regulator. The fact that people are actually beginning to wonder about the future should start alarm bells ringing within the UK government, the UK financial sector and UK regulators.
As we have mentioned in one of our earli...
Morrison’s Price Cuts Do The Trick
While they may have played ‘second fiddle’ to the likes of ASDA and Tesco over the last decade, it seems that there is still life in the Morrison’s supermarket business after announcing an encouraging rise in sales at a time when money is tight. In the month of May alone the Group has slashed the price of 2,000 items and it seems that customers are starting to return to the once...
Read MoreThen we had the Financial Policy Committee!
A Green paper issued today by the UK government will detail significant changes within the structure of the Bank of England and the creation of a new subsidiary to be known as the Financial Policy Committee. The new committee will be under the control of the Bank of England and will be responsible for "prudential regulation" of all investment banks, insurers and deposit taking institutions in the...
Read More