FT Series: After the deal
Kraft’s acquisition of Cadbury was the latest foreign takeover of a big UK business name. In a four-part series, FT writers look at cross-border deals and ask whether they work
Kraft - Cadbury
Resources
Cadbury’s 186 years of independence have ended after a majority of its shareholders accepted Kraft’s £11.7bn takeover offer
More in this section
Kraft boosted by Cadbury purchase
Kraft reported a 13 per cent rise in second-quarter earnings as contributions from its recently-acquired Cadbury unit helped it overcome weak North American results
Kraft hit by exodus of Cadbury executives
The threat of a brain drain intensifies as it emerges that five senior executives are quitting Kraft Foods following its £11.7bn takeover of the UK confectioner
Kraft censured over Cadbury deal
US group Kraft Foods has been censured by the UK mergers watchdog for making promises it could not keep during its £11.7bn takeover bid for Cadbury this year
Food for thought
The US food producer has been publicly censured by the Takeover Panel for failing to follow up on a warning that Cadbury’s Somerdale factory closure was too far advanced to be reversed
Lazard’s Kiernan withdraws Panel candidacy
Lazard banker Peter Kiernan withdraws his candidacy for the top job at the Takeover Panel after the mergers watchdog censures Kraft over its £11.7bn takeover of Cadbury
Related content and features
Interactive
From corner shop to global brand
Interactive feature: The Financial Times charts Cadbury’s evolution from corner shop to global brand in an illustrated timeline, as Kraft, the US foodmaker, proposes to take over the leading UK confectionery group
Comment & Analysis
Desperate to integrate and focus on growth
The Somerdale debacle is an unwelcome sideshow to Kraft’s takeover of Cadbury, which remains a deal with strategic sense and a clear operational overlap
Kraft’s victory set to leave lingering bitter aftertaste
Barely two months after Kraft snaffled UK rival Cadbury, it is choking on parts of its £11.6bn purchase
Bigger Kraft faces tough task ahead
Analysts ponder how Kraft can deliver more ambitious goals following its takeover of Cadbury, as the US group has struggled consistently to increase sales above its 4% target
Protectionist ‘Cadbury’s Law’ is last thing UK needs
Unite is to call for a “Cadbury’s Law” to “prevent hostile takeovers of British companies which are not in the public interest”. The danger is that this lightweight cause célèbre will weigh heavily on the election campaign
A history lesson for Kraft’s leaders
The story of Boots, the once US-owned UK drug store chain, contains several important warnings to any foreign acquirer of a much-loved business, writes Stefan Stern
Britain should not fear foreign ownership
Foreign ownership encourages a greater focus on relative profitability in investment appraisals, so benefits rather than detracts from the quality of investment decisions, write Wendy Carlin and Colin Mayer
Review the sell-off of great British companies
The rules of the game are tilted to favour hostile takeovers. Too many great UK companies have disappeared, write Will Hutton and Phillip Blond
The inside story of the Cadbury takeover
Some investors say that if the British confectionery group had been better managed, its stock price would have been higher, making it too expensive for Kraft
More stories
