Kraft tops up its offer and buys Cadbury
Kraft’s takeover of Cadbury has sparked a lot of controversy. Warren Buffett, the US investment guru who owns 9.4 percent of Kraft, publically warned Ms Rosenfeld not to overpay and issue too many new Kraft shares.
Cadbury is the world’s second-largest confectionery company after Mars-Wrigley, with brands such as Dairy Milk chocolate, Trident gum and Halls cough drops. It operates in more than 60 countries and employs 46,000 people. Full-year revenue in 2008 came to GBP 5.4 billion.
Kraft is the world’s second-largest food group, after Nestlé. Brands include Maxwell House coffee, Philadelphia cream cheese and Toblerone. It used to be owned by cigarette maker Philip Morris but was spun off completely in 2007. Kraft has 98,000 employees and 168 plants. Revenues stood at USD 42 billion in 2008.
Sweets for my sweet
The global confectionery market – 2008 sales (USD billion)
| Mars | U.S. | 24.2 |
| Cadbury | UK | 17.0 |
| Nestlé | Switzerland | 13.1 |
| Kraft | U.S. | 7.9 |
| Hershey | U.S. | 7.6 |
| Ferrero | Italy | 7.5 |
| Perfetti Van Melle | Italy/NL | 4.9 |
| Lindt &Sprüngli | Switzerland | 3.3 |
| Lotte Group | Korea/Japan | 2.6 |
| Storck | Germany | 2.3 |
Source: FAZ
