Todd Stitzer, chief executive of Cadbury Schweppes, said a merger with Hershey would make commercial, strategic and financial sense for the UK confectionery company, which is preparing to split itself in half.

Mr Stitzer told analysts at a meeting in London on Monday night that a merger with Hershey would have even more financial logic today than it did in 2002, when Cadbury and Nestlé considered making a joint bid for the US chocolate manufacturer.