Product details

This case deals with the hostile takeover of UK-based Cadbury Plc by the US-based Kraft Foods. The final takeover price was £11.9 billion (US$19.7 billion). Cadbury was the world’s second largest confectionery company. It had established a strong presence in emerging markets and globally held the sixth position in the chocolates market. Cadbury had been facing a financial crisis over the previous few years and the revenue of the company had declined. In early 2010, Cadbury was finally acquired by Kraft which felt that there were a lot of synergies in this acquisition. But one year after the deal, with Cadbury failing to meet Kraft’s top line growth objectives and the company being behind in its debt reduction plans, industry observers were beginning to question whether Kraft’s strategy of acquiring Cadbury was a wise one.