Hershey and the trust that controls it are near a final decision to bid on rival candy maker Cadbury, reports the WSJ. Hershey is wary of sacrificing its investment-grade credit rating should it buy Cadbury, a move that would add $10bn in debt, but is tilting towards making a bid. Talks with third parties, including Ferrero of Italy, have been put on hold, and there have been no recent talks with Swiss food giant Nestlé, said people familiar with the matter.

This entry was posted by Gwen Robinson on Thursday, December 10th, 2009 at 4:43 and is filed under Capital markets, M&A. Tagged with Cadbury, ferrero, hershey, nestle. Edit this entry.