Cadbury rejects Kraft's $16.7 billion bid

[Food Network Fan]

Cadbury rejects Kraft's $16.7 billion bid

AP – 24-0700" class="recenttimedate">2 hrs 48 mins ago Sent 191 times
AFP/File
LONDON - Kraft Foods Inc. on Monday proposed a 10.2 billion pound ($16.7 billion) takeover of Cadbury PLC, but the offer was immediately rejected by the British maker of chocolate, gum and candy. Full Story »

[ibcheft]

I have never understood these corporate take overs, if your making money why sell ?

[bakerman]

I am so against these giant companies taking over smaller ones, all that ever seems to happen is cheapening of the products.

Hershey's already has rights to the Cadbury name here in the US, and the Cadbury products here pale in comparison to real British Cadbury products. I didn't realize that there was such a difference until I read an article about it and bought both to compare, the difference was amazing. I think that the reason that many don't like milk chocolate is that many mass produced domestic brands taste waxy and bland. Try a real Cadbury, or chocolate from one of the great small domestic companies (before they get bought up!) and you won't want to go back to Hershey's.

[isilzha]

Yeah this is ok. Kraft doesn't have to own everything.

I saw this on wikipedia.

Brands

Kraft Foods' core businesses are in beverage, cheese and dairy, snack foods and confectionery, and convenience foods.[9]

A1 Steak Sauce
Africana Romania
Ali Coffee
Alpen Gold chocolate (Poland, Russia)
Arrowroot biscuits
Athenos Mediterranean food products
Back to Nature
Baker's
Balance Bar
Better Cheddars
Boca Burger
Bonox
Breakstone's
BullsEye Barbecue Sauce
Café HAG
California Pizza Kitchen (grocery store items)
Calumet Baking Powder
Cameo biscuits
Capri Sun juice
Carte Noire
Charada (Peru)
Cheese Nips
Cheez Whiz
Cheezels (Malaysia)
Chicken in a Biskit
Chips Ahoy!
Christie (Canada)
Claussen
Clight
Club Social crackers
Cool Whip
Corn Nuts
Coronita (Peru)
Côte d'Or (Belgium)
Country Time powdered drink mix
Cracker Barrel
Crystal Light
Daim (Sweden)
Dairylea (Europe)
Delissio (Canada)
DiGiorno pizza
Easy Cheese
Eden processed cheese (Philippines)
Field (Peru)
Fig Newtons
Filipinos (Spain, Portugal)
Freia (Norway)
Fruit2o
General Foods International
Gevalia (Sweden)
Grape-Nuts
Grey Poupon
Handi-Snacks
Honey Maid
In-A-Biskit (Australia)
Jack's Pizza
Jacobs (Europe)
Jacob's biscuits (Malaysia)
Japp (Scandinavia)
Jell-O gelatin
Jet-Puffed Marshmallows
Kenco (UK)
Knox gelatin
Knudsen
Kong Haakon (Norway)
Kool-Aid
Korona Chocolate (Ukraine)
Kraft BBQ Sauce
Kraft Caramels
Kraft Macaroni and Cheese
Kraft Dinner (Canada)
Kraft Easymac
Kraft Mayo
Kraft Bagelfuls
Kraft Peanut Butter
Kraft Singles
Kraft Sandwich Spread
Lacta (Brazil)
Lefèvre-Utile Biscuit Co.
Lunchables
Lyuks Potato Chips (Ukraine)
Maarud Potato Chips (Norway)
Marabou (Sweden)
Maxwell House coffee
Milka (Switzerland, Germany, rest of Europe)
Miracle Whip
Miracoli (Germany)
Mostro (Peru)
Mikado(UK) see Pocky(Japan)
Nabisco
Nabob (Canada)
Nilla
Non-Stop (Scandinavia)
Nutter Butter
O'boy (Scandinavia; Estonia)
Onko coffee
Oreo
Oscar Mayer
Grated Parmesan cheese
Philadelphia cream cheese
Pigrolac
Planters
Poiana (Romania)
Polly-O cheese
Premium (a Nabisco brand of saltine crackers)
Pretzels
P'tit Québec
Prince Polo
Pure Kraft Salad Dressings
Ritz
Royal baking powder
Seven Seas
Sanka
Shake 'n Bake
Simmenthal canned meat
Snackabouts
SnackWells
South Beach Living
Starbucks (grocery store items)
Stove Top stuffing
Suchard
Svoge (Bulgaria)
Taco Bell (grocery store items)
Tang
Tassimo T-DISCS.
Teddy Grahams
Terrabusi (Kraft Foods Argentina)
Terry's chocolates
Terry's Chocolate Orange
Tiger Energy Biscuits (Southeast Asian Countries)
Toblerone (Kraft Foods Switzerland)
Tombstone
Triscuit
Thinsations
Trakinas
Twist
Twisties (Malaysia)
Vegemite
Velveeta
Vizzolini (dry pastas)
Wheat Thins

[Food Network Fan]

Interesting they own the grocery California Pizza Kitchen and Tombstone and Digorno. Seems like they are competing against themselves.

[bakerman]

It is surprising to see that Schwans owns lots of frozen food brands. Freschetta, Red Baron, Mrs. Smith's, Edwards, etc...

[isilzha]

Kraft won't back off pursuit of Cadbury

British candymaker rejects $16.7 billion stock-and-cash offer


By Mike Hughlett
Tribune reporter September 8, 2009



Kraft Food Inc., the food giant based in Northfield, made an aggressive $16.7 billion offer to buy Great Britain's Cadbury PLC in an effort to transform itself into a global powerhouse in the candy and gum business.

Completing a deal also would signal that Kraft Chief Executive Irene Rosenfeld's much-ballyhooed turnaround effort is working, if only Cadbury would play ball.

Kraft, which announced its unsolicited bid before dawn Monday, was quickly and publicly rebuffed by Cadbury. Undeterred, Kraft sketched out plans for going forward with a bid, signaling the start to the kind of high-stakes takeover drama the business world hasn't seen lately.

Dealmaking pretty much dried up last year amid the global financial meltdown, and the fact that Kraft is making a run at Cadbury, one that could draw competing bids from other candymakers, suggests the acquisitions market is reawakening.

Cadbury, which dates back to 1824 and is one of Britain's best-known companies, said in a statement Monday that it is "confident" in its "stand-alone strategy." But the company's board also said Kraft's offer "fundamentally undervalues" Cadbury.

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[Food Network Fan]

I hate to see companies with that kind of history be consumed by the big guy. I hope they hold their ground. But if they need to sell it might be better for them. I guess we don't know what their books look like. I wonder if any of our more financial savvy members will give us an opinion on this one?

[isilzha]

Cadbury rejects new Kraft bid

LONDON – Kraft Foods Inc. launched a 9.8 billion pound ($16.4 billion) hostile bid for Cadbury PLC on Monday — refusing to sweeten a previous offer rejected by the British candy maker.

The terms of the cash-and-stock approach were left unchanged, effectively representing a lower offer for Cadbury investors because of a shift in share prices of both companies.

Cadbury immediately said no to the renewed approach, with chairman Roger Carr saying it "does not come remotely close to reflecting the true value of our company."

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[Food Network Fan]

UPDATE 1-Any Ferrero bid for Cadbury to be friendly -source

Thu Nov 19, 2009 11:59am EST
(Adds quotes on Ferrero cash position, background)
* Ferrero declines comment
* Sector specialist says Ferrero has ample liquidity
* Could consider delisting, sector specialist says

By Paola Arosio
MILAN, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Any bid for UK confectioner Cadbury (CBRY.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) by Italian chocolate maker Ferrero would have to be friendly, an Italian source close to the matter told Reuters on Thursday.

MORE HERE