This was the week when even the ongoing speculation over the future of Cadbury was trumped as the headline-grabbing story. That honour fell to UK retail’s leading Dutchman, Marc Bolland, who is set to switch from Morrisons after three successful years for upmarket rival Marks and Spencer. The Bolland bombshell overshadowed the latest twist in the Cadbury saga, which saw Hershey and Ferrero indicate they could enter the fray – with a possible joint bid for the Dairy Milk maker a possibility. These are the top stories on just-food this week.
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UK: Morrisons’ Bolland to replace Rose as M&S boss
UK retail giant Marks and Spencer has announced the appointment of Marc Bolland as its new chief executive, where he will replace Sir Stuart Rose.
UPDATE: UK: Hershey, Ferrero confirm Cadbury bid interest
US chocolate giant Hershey and Italian chocolatier Ferrero have confirmed their interest in buying UK confectioner Cadbury.
GLOBAL: Cargill, Callebaut await customer-fuelled M&A
Chocolate processing giants Cargill and Barry Callebaut have suggested that any consolidation between the sector’s leading brand-owners could lead to a round of M&A activity among the category’s suppliers.
UK/DENMARK: Arla to build London dairy
Arla Foods, the dairy giant behind Lurpak butter and Cravendale milk, today (16 October) revealed that it plans to build the world’s largest fresh milk dairy near London.
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By GlobalDataIRELAND: Dairy jobs to go at Glanbia
Glanbia, the Irish food group, is to cut 65 jobs from its domestic dairy ingredients business in a bid to stem losses from the division.
UPDATE: FRANCE: Danone target cut “disappoints” market
A cut in Danone’s medium-term sales guidance has proved disappointing for the market, with analysts claiming that management gave “conflicting messages”.
US: Pinnacle buys Birds Eye Foods for US$1.3bn
Pinnacle Foods Group has inked a deal to acquire Birds Eye Foods in the US in a transaction valued at US$1.3bn.
MALAYSIA: Carrefour aims to double business by 2012
Carrefour, the French retailer, plans to double the number of stores it has in Malaysia by 2012.
INDIA: Pantaloon on acquisition hunt
Pantaloon Retail, the Indian retailer, has confirmed that it is seeking potential acquisitions in a bid to expand its food business.
UK/NETHERLANDS: Uniq divests Dutch business
UK convenience group Uniq has sold its Dutch businesses to Gilde Equity Management for an enterprise value of GBP18m (US$26.8m).
