The late Bruce Wasserstein disliked the nickname “Bid ‘em Up Bruce”. Kraft seems to be doing its best to ensure that the last big deal on which the Lazard chief worked – its bid for Cadbury – overturns his reputation for persuading clients to bid high. Apart from the poignant absence of the dealmaker’s name on the ticket, and the presence of 10 banks’ names on a £5.5bn bridging loan, the formal offer launched on Monday is virtually unchanged from the unsolicited approach first revealed in September. In fact, it contained fewer fireworks than on Bonfire Night at the Health and Safety Executive.

Nothing wrong with that, but it allowed Cadbury to fire back its own rocket almost immediately and make the case that Irene Rosenfeld, the Kraft boss, had launched a lower offer than the one previously discussed – down from a value of 755p when she and Roger Carr, Cadbury’s chairman, first met in August, to nearer 717p on Monday lunchtime and less than 710p by the close in London.