Hershey mulling USD 17 bn solo bid for Cadbury: Report

Citing people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal said "the charitable trust that controls Hershey Co is pushing the chocolate giant to launch a rival, USD 17 billion bid for Cadbury PLC that would be bigger and include more cash than what Kraft Foods Inc has offered."

The daily further said Hershey's bid might include at least USD 10 billion in cash, USD 2 billion in new Hershey shares and an additional USD 3-5 billion in cash from rich investors in exchange for equity in Hershey.

WSJ said, the charitable trust is urging Hershey's chief executive David West to make a competing offer to the USD 16.5 billion bid Kraft made earlier this month for Cadbury.
Hershey and the trust are working with -- JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, to raise the money.

However, the deal from Hershey's management, is likely to face resistance from senior officers who are voicing reluctance to any deal that could force big cuts within the company, a person close to the trust told WSJ.

The trust is now pushing the company to come up with an operating plan "to make the Cadbury deal make sense," one person familiar with the matter told WSJ. Hershey stocks fell nearly 4 per cent this week after news surfaced that it is interested in exploring a Cadbury bid.