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’Paulson takes another bite of Cadbury
We all know revered hedge fund manager John Paulson has been buying gold this year, but he also appears to have something of a sweet tooth, as this regulatory disclosure released on Tuesday afternoon shows:
Cadbury rounds on hostile Kraft bid
Kraft on Monday left open the door to increasing its hostile £9.8bn offer for Cadbury after the UK confectionery group rejected its formal bid, launched Monday, describing the US food group’s offer as “derisory” after it did not alter the terms of its initial approach in September.
No change in Kraft terms for Cadbury (UPDATED)
As widely expected, Kraft has launched its hostile bid for Cadbury, the UK confectioner. And there’s not even a sprinkle of extra paper:
In fact, the statement reads as though Kraft is simply going through the motions:
Cadbury braces for hostile bid
The board of Cadbury, the UK food group, is preparing to meet on Monday amid expectations that Kraft will go hostile with its takeover offer. The US group is expected to stick close to the terms of its original £10.2bn ($16.9bn) offer and will either formalise its original cash-and-shares proposal,
Kradbury: Come on Irene
Kraft’s third quarter earnings might have been delivered with jazz hands-a-waving, but those looking for hints of a heavily sweetened Cadbury offer were left disappointed.
While “remaining interested”,
Peltz adds twist to Cadbury battle
A wild card is set to be thrown into the battle by Kraft to acquire UK confectionery group Cadbury with the expiry on Friday of an agreement by activist shareholder Nelson Peltz to refrain from publicly criticising the US food group.
Snap news
Breaking pre-market news on Wednesday,
- Cadbury reports “excellent” third quarter results ahead of Kraft put up or shut up deadline – statement.
- BAA announces sale of Gatwick airport to an entity controlled by Global Infrastructure Partners for £1.51bn – statement.
Unilever to bid for Cadbury?
No this isn’t RAW market info but some fantasy M&A from Panmure Gordon.
Analysts Graham Jones thinks Unilever should seriously consider offering 850p a share for Cadbury as it would be earnings enhancing and add meaningful exposure to what is already one of the best emerging operations in the consumers goods industry.
CDS report: Ireland, Romania move wider
Markit’s Gavan Nolan wrote this CDS report
European credit spreads continued to widen as the market reacted negatively to yet more disappointing economic data. The Markit iTraxx Europe index closed at 92.26,
Kraft set to go ‘hostile’ on Cadbury
Kraft Foods is poised to launch a hostile bid for Cadbury valuing the UK confectionery business at around £11bn ($17.4bn), the Guardian reports on Monday, following a report in its Sunday sister paper The Observer. City sources say Kraft could bid 800p a share,
Reject opportunistic Cadbury bid, says FT Alphaville
Summary: Cadbury is a great British business, with a marvelous Anglo-African heritage, superb financial prospects and a sparkling management team. In any case, its takeover by Kraft Foods Inc would almost certainly be against both the UK national interest and the common consumer good,
Did he really say that? Part III
The row about what Cadbury CEO Todd Stitzer did or did not say at that Bank of America Merrill Lynch conference earlier this week is turning increasingly nasty.
Here’s the latest from Bloomberg:
Cadbury Plc contacted the U.K.
Stitzer ‘sees sense’ of Cadbury takeover
Todd Stitzer, chief executive of Cadbury, has appeared to concede that a combination with Kraft makes “strategic sense”. Bank of America/Merrill Lynch revealed that Stitzer told a conference it organised that Kraft was unlikely to walk away from its $16.8bn bid,
Did he really say that? Part II
Earlier on Wednesday, FT Alphaville noted an intriguing series of Reuters headlines, which suggested Cadbury chief executive Todd Stitzer may have revealed more than he intended regarding Kraft’s approach to the British confectioner.
Did he really say that?
There are very strict rules governing what you can and can’t say during an offer period in the UK, so we were intrigued to see these flashes appear on Wednesday morning.
All the more so because the Bank of America Merrill Lynch conference that Todd Stitzer has been speaking at is supposed to be off limits to the press and all the investor meetings are private one-on-one affairs.
Cadbury tries to force Kraft’s hand
Cadbury has approached the UK Takeover Panel to ask Kraft to either make a formal takeover proposal or walk away for six months on its unsolicited £10.2bn takeover offer made three weeks ago. Kraft’s offer was initally valued at 745p per Cadbury share.
Cadbury raises pressure on Kraft
Cadbury’s chief executive Todd Stitzer delivered a bullish assessment of the UK confectioner’s business strategy to investors on Wednesday, emphasising its growth prospects in emerging markets as it resists Kraft’s £10.2bn takeover approach.
Even more hot chocolate
The battle for Kradbury is hotting up.
Over the weekend, the confectioner’s chairman Roger Carr said the prospect of being absorbed by a “low growth, conglomerate business” was an “unappealing” and “unattractive prospect.”
Cadbury attacks Kraft’s strategy
Cadbury has bolstered its defence against a proposed takeover by Kraft, the US foodmaker, by releasing a letter describing the US group as a “low-growth conglomerate”. Cadbury at the weekend released the letter from its chairman,
Kradbury: What the CDS market thinks
Below is a chart from Bloomberg showing how the credit default swap market has reacted to Kraft’s proposed $16bn cash and stock offer for Cadburys.
The sharp jump in Kraft’s 5-year CDS spread is
Cadbury investors press Kraft
Cadbury investors are putting pressure on Kraft to raise its putative offer for the UK confectionery group quickly, even as the value of the possible deal falls. With a combined bid from Nestlé/Hershey or a PepsiCo approach seen as possible,
CDS report: The tightening trend continues
Gavan Nolan of Markit wrote this CDS report
After a slow start, the European credit markets extended the tightening trend seen this week. The Markit iTraxx indices opened wider as stocks moved lower and investors took profits.
Kraft’s credit
Can Kraft afford to raise its £10.2bn offer for Cadbury, and if so, by how much?
It is a question we have been asking since the approach was revealed on Monday morning and the following was disclosed:
Kradbury: The homespun side of mega-bid battles
There’s nothing like some small, local stories to add a human touch to a tense, cross-border, mega-bid battle.
Such is the case with Kraft’s $16.8bn bid for UK confectionery group Cadbury.
As the war of words – and speculation about counter-offers – heats up,
Kraft hints at hostile move for Cadbury
Kraft, the largest US food maker, has warned that Cadbury will struggle to stay independent if the UK confectionery group continues to spurn its £10.2bn takeover approach, reports the FT. Irene Rosenfeld,
CDS report: Kraft’s debt burden leaves an opening for Nestle
Markit’s Gavan Nolan wrote this CDS report.
European credit indices continued to tighten today, helping to reverse the widening seen last week. The Markit iTraxx Europe index was trading around 92bp,
“The simple fact is that Cadbury is worth what someone is willing to pay for it”
In an age of calculated leaks and a 24-hour news cycle (and of course, the ubiquity of social media), releasing statements purely via RNS – the official news service of the London Stock Exchange – is looking increasingly passe.
Too much chocolate can make you feel sick
As shareholders in Kraft are discovering on Tuesday. Consider the share price moves displayed in the screenshot below:
In light of that share reaction will Kraft come back with a higher offer? And if so,
M&A is not even resting
Who said M&A activity was “resting” – if not dead (for now)? Indeed, even a month ago, deal-making worldwide was looking rather like Monty Python’s proverbial dead parrot.
In fact, as FT Alphaville recently noted,
Cadbury vows to fight Kraft offer
Cadbury has vowed to mount a staunch defence against an unsolicited £10.2bn ($16.7bn) takeover offer from Kraft of the US amidst rapid consolidation in the confectionery industry. On Monday Cadbury rejected a cash and stock offer from Kraft,