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Cadbury Shoots Down $16.7B Kraft Takeover Bid

Watchers suspect undervalued bid could be sweetened

By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 7, 2009 11:44 AM CDT

(Newser) – Cadbury today rejected a $16.73 billion takeover bid from food giant Kraft, the Wall Street Journal reports. The candy maker has recently undergone restructuring and divestment that it says make it more valuable—and more attractive to suitors like Kraft. The Cadbury board says the offer “fundamentally undervalues” the company. The bid boils down to around $12 per share; one analyst says $14 to $15 would be more reasonable.

Though a second bid from Kraft is widely expected, Cadbury says it has a “standalone strategy and growth prospects as a result of its strong brands, unique category and geographic scope.” Kraft also responded cagily, saying the bid was “full and fair” and that the company feels “very good about a stand-alone Kraft.” Other possible buyers, like Hershey, Pepsi, and Nestle, seem unlikely to step in for lack of capital or possible monopoly concerns.

Kraft mac and cheese.
Kraft mac and cheese.   (AP Photo)
A selection of Kraft food products.
A selection of Kraft food products.   (AP Photo)
A Cadbury chocolate bar.
A Cadbury chocolate bar.   (AP Photo)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 3 comments
guanlob
Sep 7, 2009 10:09 AM CDT
Barbarians at the Gate!
Mr.C
Sep 7, 2009 6:35 AM CDT
"i would wish" - why don't "you wish?"
schmidtkoff
Sep 7, 2009 5:48 AM CDT
good. i'm glad cadbury shot down kraft, which would only bastardize a good product. i would wish nestle would be in the running contenders for their chocolate product is superior to hershey. yeah, i am quite aware of the controversery surrounding nestle in 3rd world countries. they still have a superior chocolate product in compariaon to hershey, and what does kraft have to do with this? manufacturing cheezy chocolate.

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