Hershey Co., the chocolatier from US and Ferrero SpA, the Italian chocolate manufacturer are said to be considering a joint bid for Cadbury which is the target of a hostile bid from Kraft according to a recent Reuters news..

Inside sources  say there is no direct contact yet, but Cadbury may  welcome such a joint offer. However nome equity analysts claim that neither Hershey nor Ferrero is financially strong enough for such a bid and this is unlikely.

My interpretation of such news is that  some people try to  motivate Kraft for increasing its hostile bid by introducing  so-called alternatives...On the other hand, anybody in this industry knows that the ongoing consolidation trend in confectionery will include Hershey and Ferrero eventually, but it will not be a case in which Ferrero or Hershey will be acquirers but rather be acquired.

Previously posted news about an alliance between Cadbury and Ferrero is a more likely option within the plans of Cadbury to decrease the hostile bidding risks.