Nelson Peltz, the activist US investor, has upped his stake in Cadbury Schweppes, the world’s largest confectioner.
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Cadbury said today (28 June) that Peltz has increased his stake in the company to 3.47%. Peltz bought his initial stake in Cadbury in March when he secured a 2.98% shareholding.
Industry watchers had seen Peltz’s original raid on the UK group’s shares as the catalyst for Cadbury’s decision to separate its confectionery and drinks businesses and for the restructuring to the company’s confectionery business announced last week.
It has been claimed that one of Peltz’s initial objectives was to force Cadbury to split its confectionery and drinks businesses, although last week, the company’s management denied the investor was central to the decision.
CEO Todd Stitzer said last week that the decision had been two years in the making and not a reaction to pressure from unhappy shareholders.
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By GlobalDataCadbury is in the process of splitting its US drinks arm from its confectionery business. A sale of the operations, which include the Dr Pepper and Snapple brands, is understood to be most likely.
Last week, Peltz acquired a 3% stake in the US food producer Kraft. Media reports have claimed that Peltz has already begun to make his presence felt at Kraft, calling on the company to sell its Post cereals and Maxwell House coffee subsidiaries.
