The City Takeover Panel is to investigate as to whether Kraft misled Cadbury investors wrt a promise to keep Cadbury's Somerdale factory open.
Kraft said on November 9 2009:
"Kraft Foods believes it will be in a position to continue to operate the Somerdale facility, which is currently planned to be closed, and invest in Bournville, thereby preserving UK manufacturing jobs."
After the deal was completed, Kraft said that the factory would close by 2011, losing 500 jobs.
Aside from allegedly misleading Cadbury, the promise unforgivably gave false hope to the workers at the plant.
Showing posts with label cadbury. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cadbury. Show all posts
Monday, March 08, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Unite Tries To Hold Back The Tide
Unite, the union that represents Cadbury employees, is rightly worried that the proposed leveraged takeover of Cadbury by Kraft may lead to job losses in the UK.
Aside from organising a rather futile employee protest in Bournville, the home of Cadbury, today the union says that Kraft must give assurances that the interests of the workforce will not be swept aside in the deal, and that the quality of the products will be safeguarded.
Or what?
What exactly will Unite do, or be able to do, if Kraft doesn't give these assurances?
It is powerless to stop this, and its "demands" as empty and as meaningless as Gordon Brown's promise last week to do everything possible to protect Cadbury jobs.
At best, all that will happen will be that Kraft issue some form of nicely worded soothing message that will not be worth the paper it is printed on.
The only way to stop this is if the shareholders vote it down, which they won't do. As I noted last week, hedge funds snapped up a large number of shares in Cadbury in Q4 2009 when news of the possible takeover came out. They have no loyalty to either the company or the workforce.
Aside from organising a rather futile employee protest in Bournville, the home of Cadbury, today the union says that Kraft must give assurances that the interests of the workforce will not be swept aside in the deal, and that the quality of the products will be safeguarded.
Or what?
What exactly will Unite do, or be able to do, if Kraft doesn't give these assurances?
It is powerless to stop this, and its "demands" as empty and as meaningless as Gordon Brown's promise last week to do everything possible to protect Cadbury jobs.
At best, all that will happen will be that Kraft issue some form of nicely worded soothing message that will not be worth the paper it is printed on.
The only way to stop this is if the shareholders vote it down, which they won't do. As I noted last week, hedge funds snapped up a large number of shares in Cadbury in Q4 2009 when news of the possible takeover came out. They have no loyalty to either the company or the workforce.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Cadbury Kowtow To Kraft
The board of Cadbury have accepted Kraft's 840p offer.
Cadbury chairman, Roger Carr, is quoted on Citywire:
"We believe the offer represents good value for Cadbury shareholders and are pleased with the commitment that Kraft Foods has made to our heritage, values and people throughout the world."
Doubtless the board would not have given in if they did not believe that they had the support of key shareholders. It should be noted that, when details of an initial offer were made public in September, hedge funds were more than keen to snap up shares in Cadbury.
However, whether all the shareholders are as happy with the deal remains to be seen.
The board were also advised by the banks that they would not achieve a better deal. It should also be noted that, on the assumption that the deal goes ahead, the banking advisers to Cadbury and Kraft will reap a windfall of £150M.
However, the support of the workforce is not guaranteed, given what Kraft's plans may actually be for the future of Cadbury.
Gordon Brown, fearful of his re-election prospects, made a grab for the headlines by saying:
"We are determined that the levels of investment that take place in Cadbury in the United Kingdom are maintained and we are determined that, at a time when people are worried about their jobs, that jobs in Cadbury can be secure."
All very nice and voter friendly, but there is nothing that he can do to stop Kraft doing whatever they wish with the company once they take ownership of it.
Cadbury chairman, Roger Carr, is quoted on Citywire:
"We believe the offer represents good value for Cadbury shareholders and are pleased with the commitment that Kraft Foods has made to our heritage, values and people throughout the world."
Doubtless the board would not have given in if they did not believe that they had the support of key shareholders. It should be noted that, when details of an initial offer were made public in September, hedge funds were more than keen to snap up shares in Cadbury.
However, whether all the shareholders are as happy with the deal remains to be seen.
The board were also advised by the banks that they would not achieve a better deal. It should also be noted that, on the assumption that the deal goes ahead, the banking advisers to Cadbury and Kraft will reap a windfall of £150M.
However, the support of the workforce is not guaranteed, given what Kraft's plans may actually be for the future of Cadbury.
Gordon Brown, fearful of his re-election prospects, made a grab for the headlines by saying:
"We are determined that the levels of investment that take place in Cadbury in the United Kingdom are maintained and we are determined that, at a time when people are worried about their jobs, that jobs in Cadbury can be secure."
All very nice and voter friendly, but there is nothing that he can do to stop Kraft doing whatever they wish with the company once they take ownership of it.
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