The chances of a Hershey counter-bid are slim January 14, 2010 THOSE Cadbury shareholders hoping Hershey will take Kraft on in a bidding war are likely to be disappointed. The maker of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups is going to find it awfully hard to fund a takeover, as its enterprise value is estimated at around $10bn (£6.1bn) compared to Cadbury’s $21.3bn. Simply raising the funds in [...]
Mandelson calls for reform of M&A rules as he defends City March 1, 2010 LORD Mandelson last night called for an overhaul of M&A rules in light of the Cadbury takeover. He said laws needed to be in place to ensure the long-term future of British companies. In his Mansion House speech to London financiers he said: “We need directors equipped to be stewards rather than just auctioneers.” He [...]
Mandelson calls for reform of M&A rules as he defends City March 1, 2010 LORD Mandelson last night called for an overhaul of M&A rules in light of the Cadbury takeover. He said laws needed to be in place to ensure the long-term future of British companies. In his Mansion House speech to London financiers he said: “We need directors equipped to be stewards rather than just auctioneers.” He [...]
The boss of the world’s number one caterer is drawing up plans to grow June 28, 2010 It is no exaggeration to say that Compass and its chief executive Richard Cousins has elevated the term low-key into something of an art form. A modest three-storey red brick building in Chertsey, Surrey, is home to the biggest caterer in the world. Cousins, a 51-year-old father of two who rarely gives interviews, is the [...]
He’s seen off his own PM, but now the chancellor must beat the Tories April 14, 2010 WHEN all politicians around him are losing their heads, Alistair Darling is intent on keeping his. Having seen off an attempt to replace him with Gordon Brown’s favourite apparatchik Ed Balls – who wanted to use Labour’s final Budget to make vote-winning spending promises – the famously low-key chancellor says the new enemies of prudence [...]
ARE YOU COMFORTED BY CADBURY’S TRADING ? July 29, 2009 SAM HART CHARLES STANLEYThe company has announced that it has launched Fair Trade certified Dairy Milk in the UK and Ireland which may result in further share gains as a potentially substantial hurdle for competitors As a reflection of increasing confidence it announced an eight per cent increase in dividend. KEITH BOWMAN HARGREAVES LANSDOWNCadbury is [...]
ARE YOU COMFORTED BY CADBURY’S TRADING ? July 29, 2009 SAM HART CHARLES STANLEYThe company has announced that it has launched Fair Trade certified Dairy Milk in the UK and Ireland which may result in further share gains as a potentially substantial hurdle for competitors As a reflection of increasing confidence it announced an eight per cent increase in dividend. KEITH BOWMAN HARGREAVES LANSDOWNCadbury is [...]
Cadbury chief executive softens his stance towards Kraft’s takeover bid September 23, 2009 CADBURY chief executive Todd Stitzer appeared to further soften his stance towards a tie-up with US rival Kraft yesterday when he said a deal would make “strategic sense”. Speaking at a Bank of America Merrill Lynch conference, Stitzer said his job “is to get as much value as possible”, marking a shift from his pledge [...]
Kraft’s Cadbury bid sparks a flurry of FTSEmerger hopes September 7, 2009 THE leading share index notched back up towards the 5,000-points mark yesterday, after a proposed bid for Cadbury by Kraft raised hopes of a more general pick-up in merger activity and lifted banks and commodity shares. The FTSE 100 rose 1.7 per cent to a close of 4,933.18, up 81.48 points, as it came close [...]
City advisers gearing up for a flood of M&A January 20, 2010 ABBEY National, Rover, Corus. Just three Great British companies that have fallen prey to foreign predators in recent years. You can add Cadbury to that list now that the board has recommended the takeover approach from American rival Kraft – an £11.7bn deal which is likely to be waved through by institutional investors. Forget the [...]