Mondelez abandons Hershey talks two months after bid snubbed | Progresiv
Mondelez International Inc. is walking away from takeover discussions with Hershey Co. two months after its 23 billion dollars bid was rejected by the chocolate maker. 
Seeing “no actionable path forward toward an agreement,” Mondelez has ended talks over a merger, according to a statement from the Oreo maker. Hershey’s board had said on June 30 that it unanimously rejected Mondelez’s 107 dollars-a-share bid. Mondelez later boosted its offer to 115 dollars a share before abandoning discussions, according to a person familiar with the situation.
“Combining our two iconic American companies would create an industry leader with global scale in snacking and confectionery,” Chief Executive Officer Irene Rosenfeld said in a statement. “While we are disappointed in this outcome, we remain disciplined in our approach to creating value, including through acquisitions.”
The merger would have transformed Mondelez into the world’s largest candy company and given it a bigger share of the domestic market -- a weak spot for the snack giant. Hershey generated almost 90 percent of its revenue in North America last year, with the majority of that coming from selling chocolate in the U.S. Mondelez, meanwhile, has suffered from currency fluctuations and slowing overseas economies.
“The strategic fit with Mondelez was pretty compelling,” said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Ken Shea. “Not a lot of other companies can do that kind of combination.”
But Hershey, which is controlled by a nonprofit trust, spurned the cash-and-stock offer. The chocolate maker said in June that its board “determined that it provided no basis for further discussion between Mondelez and the company.”
Hershey had indicated that price discussions would need to start at $125 a share, said the person with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified because the talks were private. (www.esmmagazine.com)
