Nov. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Unilever, the world’s second-largest consumer products maker, said it still has as much as 2 billion euros ($3 billion) in cash to spend on acquisitions, two months after announcing its biggest purchase in nine years.

“We will actively look for further bolt-on acquisitions to accelerate our growth agenda,” Chief Financial Officer Jim Lawrence told investors today in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

The maker of Magnum ice cream bars, which is in the process of buying Sara Lee Corp.’s shower-gel and European detergents business for 1.28 billion euros ($1.88 billion), is waiting for “the right targets at the right price,” according to Lawrence. His remarks, broadcast on the company’s Web site, come as U.K. candy maker Cadbury Plc battles to avoid a 10.3 billion-pound ($17 billion) takeover by Kraft Food Inc.

While committed to a “strong, single A” credit rating, London- and Rotterdam-based Unilever has 1 to 2 billion euros of cash available for acquisitions, Lawrence said. On Nov. 5, he said the company was not looking at Cadbury.

Unilever added 27 cents, or 1.3 percent, to 20.99 euros in Amsterdam. The stock has added 21 percent this year, valuing the maker of Dove soap at 62.9 billion euros.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jeroen Molenaar in Amsterdam jmolenaar1@bloomberg.net; Andrew Cleary in London at acleary7@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 23, 2009 12:03 EST