Hershey needs to get the green light from its trust
HERSHEY, the US candy giant that makes the iconic Kisses chocolate and Reese’s peanut butter cups, has its own hurdles to overcome before it can make an offer for Cadbury.
The group’s Hershey Trust Company – an independent trust company founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1905 – controls 30 per cent of the candy maker and 80 per cent of the group’s voting rights.
The trust has the power to remove directors if it feels that they are taking it in a direction that it believes isn’t beneficial to the company.
In 2002, the trust blocked the $12.5bn (£7.5bn) sale of Hershey to Wrigley amid opposition in its home state of Pennsylvania. The seven trust board members who backed a deal were ousted. It remains unclear whether the trust would allow a bid this time around, even if the US chocolate maker were able to strike a deal with Ferrero.