M&A

28 November, 2009

Cadbury chief sees shared values with Hershey - FT

LONDON, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Cadbury (CBRY.L) shares "a lot of cultural similarity" with Hershey (HSY.N), Cadbury chief executive Todd Stitzer was quoted on Saturday as saying.

Speculation about a battle for Cadbury (CBRY.L) between Kraft Foods (KFT.N) and other rivals including Hershey has lifted the British confectioner's shares.

Kraft has tabled a cash and shares bid of 9.9 billion pounds ($16.2 billion).

"Both companies were founded by men of principle and vision who created company towns and supported charitable causes," Cadbury chief Stitzer said of his company and Hershey.

"There is quite a lot of cultural similarity," he was quoted as saying in an interview with the Financial Times conducted on Friday. "I would prefer Cadbury to be in an environment where its values and principles could continue."

Most of the other big players in the global confectionery industry -- Hershey, Italy's Ferrero and Switzerland's Nestle AG (NESN.VX) -- are weighing bids, according to Reuters sources and media reports.

Many analysts doubt whether any of these three would bid alone, but possible combinations of them could trump Kraft's offer or push the American food giant to raise its offer. ((email: mike.peacock@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: mike.peacock.reuters.com@reuters.net: +44 207 542 3784)) ($1=.6105 POUND)

Source: http://www.reuters.com