Rumours of bid for Hershey

Rumours about a new bid for The Hershey Co abound in the US press. Business Week quoted Michael Metz,chief investment strategist at Oppenheimer & Co, as saying “There’s talk that Hershey could get a new bid and it may be difficult to resist.” RobertVowler is CEO of the Hershey Trust Co,which owns 78% of voting shares and a 31% economic interest in the company. He said no-one was interested in selling the trust’s controlling shares. In 2002 the trust,which also runs the Milton Hershey School Foundation,turned down a bid from Wrigley worth $ 12.5 bn at the last minute, after considerable pressure from local lawmakers and unions. Since then the company has been achieving solid growth thanks to acquisitions and innovations. The company ranks as one of the best-performing in the US food sector. Growth has begun to slow down,however, and stock has fallen 21% since May 2005.