CHICAGO/PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – At least Hershey Co tried.

The maker of Hershey Kisses and Reese’s peanut butter cups was roused to assemble a counter offer after Kraft Foods launched a hostile bid for Cadbury. Many in the candy business saw it as Hershey’s last chance to bust out of the mature U.S. market.

But with the British maker of Dairy Milk and Creme Eggs agreeing to be bought by Chicago-based Velveeta cheese and Ritz cracker maker Kraft, Hershey will have to return to a strategy of expanding internationally through joint ventures and small acquisitions.

“It definitely puts Hershey back to where it was a couple of months ago, focused on its domestic operations,” Morningstar analyst Erin Swanson said.

CHICAGO/PHILADELPHIA, Jan 19 (Reuters) – At least Hershey Co <HSY.N> tried.

The maker of Hershey Kisses and Reese’s peanut butter cups was roused to assemble a counter offer after Kraft Foods <KFT.N> launched a hostile bid for Cadbury <CBRY.L>. Many in the candy business saw it as Hershey’s last chance to bust out of the mature U.S. market.

But with the British maker of Dairy Milk and Creme Eggs agreeing to be bought by Chicago-based Velveeta cheese and Ritz cracker maker Kraft, Hershey will have to return to a strategy of expanding internationally through joint ventures and small acquisitions. [ID:nL9294700]

“It definitely puts Hershey back to where it was a couple of months ago, focused on its domestic operations,” Morningstar analyst Erin Swanson said.

PHILADELPHIA/LONDON/CHICAGO, Jan 19 (Reuters) – To clinch the deal of a lifetime, Irene Rosenfeld needed to make an abrupt about-face.

The chief executive of Kraft <KFT.N>, a household name in U.S. food, got the engines of her corporate jet fired up late on Saturday and took off for London, after returning from the UK just two days earlier. With a deadline to declare Kraft’s final offer for Britain’s Cadbury Plc <CBRY.L> less than 72 hours away, Rosenfeld had to grasp the initiative.

This time she was heading back for a meeting with Cadbury Chairman Roger Carr and had no intention of leaving without a deal, even if that meant straying from a strategy that had played out over nearly five months and tested her leadership.

Investors, bankers and others involved in the $19.6 billion friendly deal [ID:nL9294700] said mounting pressure from disgruntled Cadbury shareholders prompted Rosenfeld to raise her bid for the 186-year-old maker of Dairy Milk chocolate.

PHILADELPHIA/LONDON/CHICAGO (Reuters) – To clinch the deal of a lifetime, Irene Rosenfeld needed to make an abrupt about-face.

The chief executive of Kraft, a household name in U.S. food, got the engines of her corporate jet fired up late on Saturday and took off for London, after returning from the UK just two days earlier. With a deadline to declare Kraft’s final offer for Britain’s Cadbury Plc less than 72 hours away, Rosenfeld had to grasp the initiative.

This time she was heading back for a meeting with Cadbury Chairman Roger Carr and had no intention of leaving without a deal, even if that meant straying from a strategy that had played out over nearly five months and tested her leadership.

Investors, bankers and others involved in the $19.6 billion friendly deal said mounting pressure from disgruntled Cadbury shareholders prompted Rosenfeld to raise her bid for the 186-year-old maker of Dairy Milk chocolate.

PHILADELPHIA, Jan 13 (Reuters) – U.S. chocolate maker Hershey Co <HSY.N> is still working on a bid for Cadbury Plc <CBRY.L> that would top Kraft’s hostile $17 billion takeover offer, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Hershey authorized drawing up a bid for Cadbury and a formal offer could be made within two weeks, the Financial Times said, citing a person familiar with the matter. Hershey has until Jan. 23 to make a bid under UK Takeover Panel rules.

But a source told Reuters that Hershey has not decided whether it will make a formal offer. Hershey officials declined comment.

The revived talk of a Hershey bid came as Kraft Chief Executive Irene Rosenfeld tried to woo Cadbury shareholders in London, paying visits to their offices.

PHILADELPHIA, Jan 13 (Reuters) – U.S. chocolate maker Hershey Co <HSY.N> is still working on a bid for Cadbury Plc <CBRY.L> that would top Kraft’s hostile $17 billion takeover offer, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Hershey authorized drawing up a bid for Cadbury and a formal offer could be made within two weeks, the Financial Times said, citing a person familiar with the matter. Hershey has until Jan. 23 to make a bid under UK Takeover Panel rules.

But a source told Reuters that Hershey has not decided whether it will make a formal offer. Hershey officials declined comment.

The revived talk of a Hershey bid came as Kraft Chief Executive Irene Rosenfeld tried to woo Cadbury shareholders in London, paying visits to their offices.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Already seen as a long-shot bidder, Italian chocolate maker Ferrero’s interest in Cadbury Plc has cooled as the hurdles of getting financing and finding suitable partners before the deadline becomes increasingly daunting, sources familiar with the situation said.

With Ferrero more firmly on the sidelines and other potential rival, Nestle, ruling itself out of the auction, Hershey Co has become more isolated in its ability to launch a bid to counter hostile suitor Kraft Foods Inc.

Hershey and Ferrero have considered a joint bid for Cadbury, sources previously told Reuters. Both Ferrero and Hershey are smaller than Cadbury and would need to raise significant financing to launch an offer.

Private equity firms, which have been seen as potential partners for both Ferrero and Hershey, are unlikely to come in so late in the day, sources said.

NEW YORK, Jan 7 (Reuters) – Already seen as a long-shot bidder, Italian chocolate maker Ferrero’s interest in Cadbury Plc has cooled as the hurdles of getting financing and finding suitable partners before the deadline becomes increasingly daunting, sources familiar with the situation said.

With Ferrero more firmly on the sidelines and other potential rival, Nestle <NESN.VX>, ruling itself out of the auction, Hershey Co <HSY.N> has become more isolated in its ability to launch a bid to counter hostile suitor Kraft Foods Inc <KFT.N>.

Hershey and Ferrero have considered a joint bid for Cadbury, sources previously told Reuters. Both Ferrero and Hershey are smaller than Cadbury and would need to raise significant financing to launch an offer.

Private equity firms, which have been seen as potential partners for both Ferrero and Hershey, are unlikely to come in so late in the day, sources said.

PHILADELPHIA/NEW YORK, Jan 5 (Reuters) – Swiss drugmaker Novartis <NOVN.VX> is taking a rare stance in the M&A world by lowballing Alcon’s minority shareholders.

Offering disparate prices for different stock constituents is rare in U.S.-listed company deals, where buyers are fearful of scrutiny and lawsuits. But the Novartis move is shielded by Swiss takeover law, which hampers minority shareholders’ ability to balk.

“A simultaneous offer with this much of a disparity between the majority and minority shareholders is quite rare,” said John Coffee, Columbia University Law School professor.

While eye care firm Alcon <ACL.N>, founded in 1945 by two pharmacists in Texas, is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, it is incorporated in Hunenberg, Switzerland.

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – British confectioner Cadbury Plc may feel more comfortable in the embrace of Hershey Co, but a slew of potential obstacles could make Hershey the lesser choice in the eyes Cadbury investors.

A serious effort by Hershey to surpass Kraft Food Inc’s $16.8 billion hostile offer for Cadbury would require careful orchestration of financing, meeting the legal requirements of Hershey’s controlling trust, and navigation of local Pennsylvania politics.

Hershey is still weighing its options but has lined up funding commitments from Bank of America Corp and JP Morgan Chase & Co to make a solo offer for Cadbury, whose market capitalization is nearly twice that of Hershey.

A bid would increase Hershey’s debt load and change the risk profile of the 100-year-old company. Hershey had $1.5 billion in long-term debt and $3.1 billion in liabilities as of October 4.