Managers back Cadbury board over Kraft takeover

Fund managers have backed Cadbury's decision to accept Kraft's new increased bid for the confectioner.

The Cadbury board has advised its shareholders to accept a new offer of 850p a share, which includes a special 10p per share dividend for Cadbury shareholders. It values the company at £11.5bn, far in excess of Kraft's £9.8bn hostile bid last year, which Cadbury labelled as "derisory". The offer consists of 500p in cash, with the rest made of Kraft shares. Kraft will borrow £7bn to finance the deal. Octopus Investments fund manager David Crawford, who bought Cadbury shares after the initial takeover approach, says the high final level offered by Kraft came as a surprise. "I am v...