Cadbury chief executive softens his stance towards Kraft’s takeover bid
CADBURY chief executive Todd Stitzer appeared to further soften his stance towards a tie-up with US rival Kraft yesterday when he said a deal would make “strategic sense”.
Speaking at a Bank of America Merrill Lynch conference, Stitzer said his job “is to get as much value as possible”, marking a shift from his pledge to stay independent.
According to a Merrill research note, Stitzer said Kraft would have to pay around 14.7 times Cadbury’s earnings, or about 900p.
That implies a bid of about £12.3bn, far higher than the £10.2bn or 745p a share indicative offer Kraft put to Cadbury’s board three weeks ago.
But later yesterday Cadbury put out a statement saying the Merrill note was an “inaccurate reflection” of Stitzer’s comments, adding that the firm had not changed its position on Kraft’s offer.
Cadbury approached the Takeover Panel on Monday, asking it to issue a “put up or shut up” notice to Kraft that would force it to make a formal offer.