Cadbury 'likely to have a positive future under Kraft'

British confectioner Cadbury is likely to have a positive future under Kraft, according to a UK member of parliament.

In comments made to the Birmingham Post, Ken Clarke, the shadow business secretary, said that Kraft's eagerness to secure a deal with the company meant the firm was "optimistic about the future of Cadbury".

Kraft sold its American frozen pizza business to Nestle earlier in the month in order to improve its offer for Cadbury, which stands at over £11 billion. The current offer is thought to be worth around 850p per share.

Mr Clarke told the newspaper that if the deal goes through the UK government will then focus on saving jobs and the Cadbury factory at Bourneville, near Birmingham.

He said: "There comes a point when there is no point in reminiscing about the Quaker foundations of Cadbury, nor even getting too worked up about whether they should have been sold or not."

One major shareholder of Cadbury Legal and General has already criticised the decision of Cadbury's management to recommend the Kraft offer stating that it "fails to fully reflect the long-term value of the company."

Posted by Philippa Atkins.