Kraft Has Until Nov. 9 to Make Cadbury Bid
LONDON (
) --
Kraft Foods
(KFT)
has until Nov. 9 to make a firm offer for
Cadbury
(CBY)
or announce it doesn't plan to submit a bid, the U.K.'s Takeover Panel said Wednesday.
If the U.S. foods company doesn't make an offer it will be restricted from making a new proposal for six months under U.K. rules.
Cadbury, noting the panel's ruling, said in a statement Wednesday that it hasn't changed its view on a potential deal and reiterates that it still rejects Kraft's approach.
"Cadbury has a strong position in the global confectionery market and the board is confident in Cadbury's standalone pure play strategy and growth prospects," said Cadbury Chairman Roger Carr, in a statement. "We have made our position on Kraft's proposal very clear and we welcome the panel's decision today in the interests of obtaining clarity and certainty for our shareholders and employees at the earliest opportunity."
It was reported over the weekend that Kraft was preparing to launch a hostile bid for Cadbury, valuing the confectionary maker at $17.45 billion, the U.K.'s
Observer
reported.
Kraft earlier this month made an offer of $16.7 billion in stock and cash to buy Cadbury, but the deal was rebuffed and called too low by Cadbury.
-- Reported by Joseph Woelfel in New York
.
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