New York: Easing its stance on the takeover
bid from Kraft Foods, Cadbury has said the combination with
the US food major makes "some strategic sense", even as the
British confectionery firm has approached the UK takeover
regulator to put Kraft on notice for formalising its bid soon.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the request by
Cadbury seems to be designed to put pressure on Kraft to raise
its USD 16.7 billion (10.2 billion pounds) bid for Cadbury,
two weeks after making public its takeover proposal.
Attributing to people familiar with the matter the report
said Cadbury has asked the UK panel on Takeovers and Mergers
to issue an order demanding that Kraft make a formal bid with
committed financing.
In a separate report, UK daily Financial Times also said
that Cadbury approached the UK Takeover panel on Monday to ask
Kraft either to make a formal takeover proposal or walk away
for six months.
Meanwhile, Cadbury CEO Todd Stitzer's interview to the
The Wall Street Journal has suggested a more conciliatory tone
from the British company, which had rejected Kraft's bid.
"I would never say there's not some strategic sense in
these businesses coming together," Stitzer said.
Citing an open letter to Kraft earlier this month, the
WSJ report said the British confectionery group had called a
tie-up of the companies "an unappealing prospect which
contrasts sharply with our strategy."
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, September 22, 2009, 17:46