It is tempting to see any big deal as part of a wave of consolidation that will crash over an industry. Mars’s $23bn agreed offer for Wrigley this week has prompted speculation that Cadbury, usurped as the world’s largest confectioner, will respond. But throwing a lifeline to the floundering Hershey is not the answer.

Hershey, with an enterprise value of $10bn, is based almost entirely in the mature North American market and sales did not grow at all last year. There would be some cost synergies from combining distribution of Hershey’s chocolate with Cadbury’s gum and removing head office expenses. But these benefits would almost certainly have to be paid to Hershey shareholders to convince the controlling trust to relinquish its grip. Furthermore, absorbing Hershey might require cutting umbilical cords between the company and its host town, Hershey, Pennsylvania, with all the controversy that would entail.