Fate of Mondelez/Hershey Merger, What's in the Way?
If Hershey Co. considers any new acquisition offer in the coming weeks, it could face opposition from some in its namesake town of Hershey, Pennsylvania, where residents have prospered from its presence and tend to be fierce defenders of its independence.
The Hershey Trust, a $12 billion school charity and the company’s controlling shareholder, has become increasingly involved in the local community over the decades, and has appeared to listen to its concerns in the past.
Pennsylvania’s attorney general, who supervises the trust and can ask a court to block any deal, holds an elected office and is sensitive to local concerns, though the current office holder is not planning to seek reelection.
Pennsylvania law requires any charitable trust to consider, when selling an asset, the “special relationship of the asset and its economic impact as a principal business enterprise on the community” and the “special value” of its ties to the community.
Click here for the full article "Hershey's Hometown Might Try to Stop Chocolate Merger With Mondelez"
Mondelez International Inc. recently made a bid to buy chocolate giant Hershey Co. in what would be a blockbuster deal uniting two of the world’s best-known candy makers.
The Hershey Company received a preliminary, non-binding indication of interest from Mondelez International to acquire the company for a mix of cash and stock consideration, totaling $107 a share of Hershey common stock. However, the Board of Directors unanimously rejected the offer.
The Hershey Trust, a $12 billion school charity and the company’s controlling shareholder, has become increasingly involved in the local community over the decades, and has appeared to listen to its concerns in the past.
Pennsylvania’s attorney general, who supervises the trust and can ask a court to block any deal, holds an elected office and is sensitive to local concerns, though the current office holder is not planning to seek reelection.
Pennsylvania law requires any charitable trust to consider, when selling an asset, the “special relationship of the asset and its economic impact as a principal business enterprise on the community” and the “special value” of its ties to the community.
Click here for the full article "Hershey's Hometown Might Try to Stop Chocolate Merger With Mondelez"
Mondelez International Inc. recently made a bid to buy chocolate giant Hershey Co. in what would be a blockbuster deal uniting two of the world’s best-known candy makers.
The Hershey Company received a preliminary, non-binding indication of interest from Mondelez International to acquire the company for a mix of cash and stock consideration, totaling $107 a share of Hershey common stock. However, the Board of Directors unanimously rejected the offer.