Mondelēz Ends Pursuit of The Hershey Co.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Mondelēz International Inc. has dropped its bid to acquire The Hershey Co., a move that would have formed combined the two companies into one powerhouse candy and snacking giant.

"As the world's leading snacking company, we remain focused on successfully executing our strategy to deliver both sustainable top-line growth and significant margin expansion and are well-positioned to continue to deliver value to our shareholders," said Mondelēz Chairman and CEO Irene Rosenfeld. "Our proposal to acquire Hershey reflected our conviction that combining our two iconic American companies would create an industry leader with global scale in snacking and confectionery and a strong portfolio of complementary brands."

However, Rosenfeld explained, "following additional discussions, and taking into account recent shareholder developments at Hershey, we determined that there is no actionable path forward toward an agreement."

In early July, Mondelēz made a roughly $23-billion preliminary non-binding bid for Hershey. However, the Hershey, Pa.-based candy company rejected the offer after receiving input from the company's management and its outside financial and legal advisors, as CSNews Online previously reported. 

The initial offer was for a mix of cash and stock consideration, totaling $107 a share of Hershey common stock. Reports indicate Mondelēz increased the bid to $115 a share just last week.

"While we are disappointed in this outcome, we remain disciplined in our approach to creating value, including through acquisitions, and confident that our advantaged platform positions us well for top-tier performance over the long term," Rosenfeld said.

Deerfield-based Mondelēz International had 2015 net revenues of approximately $30 billion. Its brands include Oreo, LU and Nabisco biscuits; Cadbury, Cadbury Dairy Milk and Milka chocolate; and Trident gum.