DAIRY MILK maker Cadbury would reject a £10.3 billion takeover bid from US chocolate firm Hershey, it has been reported.
Cadbury, which has already described a hostile £9.8 billion offer from Oreos and Toblerone maker Kraft as “derisory”, is thought to be adamant that there would be no deal unless a much higher bid is tabled.
According to reports, Hershey, which is controlled by a charitable trust in Pennsylvania, is understood to be at an advanced stage of drawing up an offer.
This is thought to comprise of 10 billion US dollars (£6 billion) in cash, 2 billion dollars (£1.2 billion) in new Hershey shares and between 3 billion dollars (£1.8 billion) and 5 billion dollars (£3 billion) from investors.
Hershey already has a business relationship with Cadbury, holding a licence to make Dairy Milk bars and Cadbury Creme Eggs in the US.
It is considered to be a better fit to Cadbury’s business and a counter bid could help the British chocolate maker trump the troublesome Kraft manoeuvre.
