In what will surely be seen as a victory for opponents to the sale,
Hershey Foods ended its controversial search for a buyer on Tuesday
after it rejected all bids for the confectionery manufacturer.
Cadbury-Schweppes and Nestle are reported to have struck agreement
on the brands and assets each would undertake if their joint bid
for Hershey Foods is accepted.
Wall Street analysts and bankers generally dismiss the idea that a
multibillion-dollar sale of Hershey Foods could be killed by local
opposition in Pennsylvania. But legal experts are not so sure.
Nestle believes it will walk away with lucrative US rights to its
KitKat brand whether or not it wins a takeover battle for American
chocolate icon Hershey because of a deal dating back to 1970,
reports Reuters on Thursday.
Even as Pennsylvania lawmakers move forward in attempts to halt the
sale of the chocolate maker, Hershey Foods said on Thursday that it
had received an unsolicited mini-tender offer to buy less than 2
per cent of the company.
The planned sale of Hershey Foods is expected to come under fire on
Friday from a broad coalition of the confectionery maker's hometown
neighbours, including workers, politicians, reform activists and
ordinary citizens.
