Cadbury Rejects Kraft’s Takeover Offer as Too Low

Cadbury Plc, the maker of Dairy Milk chocolate, rejected Kraft Foods Inc.’s unsolicited takeover offer of 10.1 billion pounds ($17 billion) after Kraft stuck to the terms of its initial bid.

Kraft offered 300 pence in cash and 0.2589 new Kraft share per Cadbury share, the same as a bid made public Sept. 7, the Northfield, Illinois-based company said today in a statement. Based on today’s closing prices, the bid values Cadbury at 710 pence a share, below the current price. Cadbury recommended that investors reject the offer because Kraft’s stock drop has caused the value to decline from its initial 745-pence level.