Activity is heating up around the British confectionary brand Cadbury after the publication of a defence document on January 12th stating that Kraft's takeover offer was "even more unattractive".
Reports have emerged through the Reuters news agency that sources close to the Italian company Ferrero and the US food manufacturer Hershey have ruled out either company putting in a rival bid.
This leaves Kraft's bid, which was updated last week, the only offer on Cadbury's table. The board of Cadbury responded to the offer when it published its end of year results stating that it was "even more unattractive" than when it was originally made and urging shareholders to reject the bid.
Kraft has hit back at the statements calling Cadbury's defence "underwhelming".
It said: "They have said very little that is new and have ducked the issue of their profitability in 2010. We continue to believe that the certainty and upside potential provided by our offer remains the best option for Cadbury's shareholders."
Bloomberg has also reported that Cadbury boss Todd Stitzer believes it is important to the brands future to remain whole, rather than being broken up by an acquisition, if it wants to continue to compete in the global market place.
