Kraft Foods is upping the ante on its bid to take over the British candy maker, Cadbury.
Northfield, Illinois-based Kraft Foods still remains the only official bidder to take over Cadbury. There had been talk that Nestle might throw in an offer. Instead, Nestle has agreed to buy Kraft’s North American pizza business for about $3.7 billion. That pizza includes brand names like DiGiorno, Tombstone and Jack’s.
In a statement, Kraft says the deal with Nestle helps to focus resources on “priority global brands and categories.” Kraft plans to offer more cash in its existing $16.5 billion hostile offer to take over Cadbury. The British candy-maker told its shareholders last month to reject Kraft’s bid. Kraft has given Cadbury shareholders until early February to decide on the offer.