Cadbury has been holding out against a proposed Kraft merger, flirting with suitors like Hershey, or saying demurely that they had no plans to pair up with any one, thank you very much. But it looks like, in the end, they’ll be marrying for money. Cadbury’s CEO is recommending that shareholders take the 850 pence ($13.89) per share offered by the giant food conglomerate. Insiders had hoped to find some other way, but ultimately, without another bidder, Cadbury’s lackluster performance made it unlikely that shareholders would go along. The CEO has been under intense pressure from institutional investors who wanted cash in hand, not the promise that really, someday Cadbury was going to get it together. Since ultimately, they’re his bosses, this was probably inevitable in the absence of a better bid from another firm.
