Cadbury reiterates rejection to Kraft bid

Cadbury re-stated its rejection of the US$10bn (£6.1bn) hostile bid from Kraft and published details of an outstanding performance in 2009 that it hopes will bolster its dismissal of the proposal as derisory. The UK confectioner has been fighting to retain its independence since the first approach from the US giant in September. With the approach of the early February deadline for shareholders to make up their minds on the offer, Cadbury reported chocolate sales up 7%, gum up 2% and sweets up 5% over the past 12 months.

Kraft, which has made a US$17bn takeover bid for Cadbury said it expected 2009 earnings per share of at least US$2 per share, up from its earlier estimate of at least US$1.97 per share. Analysts expected the company to earn US$2 in 2009. "We are well positioned to deliver sustainable top-tier performance, with or without Cadbury," Kraft Foods' Chairman and CEO Irene Rosenfeld said in a statement. Kraft has until January 19 to raise its cash-and-stock bid, now worth about 762 pence per Cadbury share.

Hershey Co. is stepping up efforts to prepare a bid for Cadbury and plans to make a decision after Kraft's final offer for the UK chocolate maker. Hershey has been in talks with credit-ratings companies in recent days about how to structure a bid without imperiling its investment-grade debt rating. It’s also been drafting commitment letters with its lenders, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America, to secure a multi-billion-dollar loan package