So when she met last week with employees at Cadbury's headquarters near London, "There were a lot of mixed emotions," Rosenfeld said in an interview with the Tribune on Friday. "But they were incredibly gracious."
And at Kraft's Northfield headquarters Friday, the reception Rosenfeld received from employees at a town hall meeting was downright ceremonial. She received a standing ovation.
Kraft Foods said Tuesday that it would offer more cash in its $16 billion hostile takeover bid for Cadbury, the British chocolate maker, using the proceeds from a $3.7 billion sale of its North American pizza unit to Nestlé.
Stepping up its efforts to fend off a hostile takeover bid, Cadbury increased its profitability target on Monday and said Kraft’s offer for the British chocolate and candy maker was “derisory.”
Cadbury declined to say whether it is in discussions with Hershey, Ferrero or any other potential rival bidders, but Todd Stitzer, the chief executive, said the company had “received indications of interest from third parties.”
The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, reported Friday that the charitable trust that controls Hershey is pushing the Pennsylvania-based chocolate-maker to launch a $17 billion bid for Cadbury.
Last week, Kraft made a formal offer for Cadbury, reiterating its earlier $16 billion-plus bid for the company. Cadbury again decidedly rejected Kraft.
With Hershey seeming more likely to make an offer, a bidding war for Cadbury "is a definite possibility," said Erin Swanson, a stock analyst for Morningstar Inc.
Kraft Foods turned hostile in its bid for Cadbury on Monday, making a formal but unchanged takeover offer which now triggers a bid battle for the British confectioner which could last up to three months.
After Tuesday’s results, the food company, led by Irene B. Rosenfeld, reaffirmed its interest in Cadbury, but stressed that it would maintain a disciplined approach. Kraft said it would continue to deliver — with or without Cadbury. But acquiring Cadbury would help it on the growth front. In late October, Cadbury raised its forecast for revenue and operating margins and now expects sales to grow by about 5 percent.
Cadbury stepped up the pressure on Kraft yesterday to raise its proposed £10bn takeover offer after reporting unexpectedly strong third-quarter trading figures.
Kraft Foods Inc., which this month proposed to buy Cadbury Plc, is poised to make an 11 billion- pound ($17.6 billion) hostile bid for the chocolate maker, the Observer reported, citing unidentified “City sources.”
“By no means does Cadbury management give the impression they want to remain independent, and they stress they want to maximize value to shareholders,” Merrill analysts and salesmen said in a note sent to clients during the London conference, which took place yesterday and today. “Cadbury indicated that the next step is for Kraft to make a formal offer, at hopefully a more attractive price.”
"Gum is definitely one of the big factors behind this deal," says Lee Linthicum, the London-based head of global food research at Euromonitor. "It's not just buying a power brand in Cadbury—there's a lot more in Cadbury's portfolio that has real potential for innovation." Indeed, in her takeover proposition to Cadbury Chairman Roger Carr, Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld called the possible acquisition of the British candy company "a logical next step in our transformation as we shape the company into a more global, higher-growth, and higher-margin entity."
Kraft Foods Inc does not need to sell operations like Oscar Mayer hot dogs, Maxwell House coffee or any of its other brands to afford its $16 billion bid for British confectioner Cadbury, Kraft said on Tuesday.
Ms Rosenfeld insisted that Kraft’s £10.2bn ($16.9bn) potential offer represented “compelling value to Cadbury’s shareholders”. The terms, she said, represented “a significant premium for Cadbury’s shareholders, and well above what they themselves are expected to deliver”. They would also have “the opportunity to participate in the future upside of the combined company” because of the stock element in the cash-and-shares proposal.
“The time is right to pursue this powerful combination in snacks, confection and quick meals,” she said, describing the proposed combination as a “formidable global powerhouse” that created a “tremendous innovation opportunity”.
Ms Rosenfeld said: “We believe scale will be an increasing source of competitive ad both in confectionary and in the food industry at large.”
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