Hershey and Ferrero's Cadbury Interest Unlikely to Push Up Kraft Bid

(MoneyWatch)  It's not that I don't think Kraft Foods (KFT) will ultimately have to raise its offer in its hostile takeover bid for Cadbury (CBY). The offer was low when it was floated in September and, thanks to changes in stock prices, the offer was even lower last week when Kraft made it official.

But I'm not sure that recent confirmation of possible rival bids on Cadbury from both Hershey (HSY) and Italian confectionary company Ferrero will be what pushes Kraft over the edge.

After all, no competing bid has actually been made; the companies are merely at the "preliminary stages" of considering the idea. Furthermore, no one seems to think that the companies could top Kraft's offer, even if, as most are speculating, they work together and make a joint bid.

An actual competing bid would change the game, but considering that Kraft held steady through all the rumors and talk of the past couple of months, I don't see why it would change course now because of other companies' "preliminary" considerations. Most analysts predicted a higher bid than the one Kraft ultimately made. They were wrong. My guess is Kraft won't budge until it absolutely has to.

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• Cadbury Warms to Kraft Bid, Pushes for Deadline
• Cadbury Chairman Insults Kraft in Open Letter
• Cadbury Playing Hard-to-Get?