Mars Purchase May Push Hershey, Cadbury to Combine |
| Bloomberg - Apr 29, 2008 |
Hershey Co., the biggest U.S. chocolate maker, and Cadbury Schweppes Plc may be forced to merge after Mars Inc. agreed to buy Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. for $23 billion to create the world's biggest candy maker.
Combining Hershey's namesake chocolate bars and Cadbury's Trident gum and Certs mints would create a company with 15.6 percent of the world's candy market, pushing it past the 14.1 percent share held by Mars and Wrigley.
Hershey has lost market share to Mars the past two years, and is confronting rising costs for cocoa, energy and milk. The largest U.S. chocolate maker reported first-quarter profit dropped 32 percent last week, while Cadbury, which plans to spin off its Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. drinks May 7, has reported declining earnings since the second half of 2006.
Read Full Article from Bloomberg
- Posted: 2008-04-29 08:29:26
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