When Kraft launched its surprise £10bn approach for Cadbury a week ago, the reaction from shareholders was comically predictable. Kraft could not be serious, they said. The premium to the market price – a mere 31 per cent – was nowhere near enough.

In which case, the naïve observer might ask, why had they not gobbled up the stock at the previous price? The answer is that in reality, their reaction was shorthand for a more complex statement.