The battle for control of Cadbury, one of the world’s largest sweets makers, has been sour almost from the start of Kraft Foods’ pursuit back in September. However, today’s (9 November) news that Kraft have gone hostile with its bid for the Dairy Milk maker added a further bitter twist to the tale. Below just-food plots out the highlights in the ‘Kradbury’ saga.
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7 September: Kraft puts initial takeover proposal on table. Cadbury’s board immediately dismisses, arguing that it undervalues the company.
8 September: Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld insists the group does not need to sell assets to finance the takeover.
12 September: Cadbury chairman Roger Carr attacks “low growth” Kraft in an open letter to Rosenfeld.
16 September: Cadbury CEO Todd Stitzer defends Cadbury’s future growth prospects in a speech at Sanford Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference in London.
25 September: Responding to criticism, Rosenfeld insists Kraft doesn’t “need” Cadbury. “This is something we would like to do, not something that we have to do,” she says.
2 October: Cadbury labels lawsuit filed against the company by a minority shareholder for rejecting Kraft’s proposed offer as “entirely without merit”.
21 October: Cadbury ups its full-year revenue and margin targets in a trading update seen as a bid to convince shareholders of the group’s future as an independent company.
4 November: Kraft lifts its full-year earnings per share outlook, despite a fall in third-quarter net earnings and revenues.
9 November: Kraft formalises its proposed offer for Cadbury – and goes hostile.
