Kraft Extends Deadlines For Final Wedel Bids -Sources

16th Jun 2010 14:48

By Marynia Kruk and Marietta Cauchi Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WARSAW (Dow Jones)--Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) has extended the deadline for final bids for E. Wedel, its Polish business, two people familiar with the matter said Wednesday. Disposals of the firm's Polish and Romanian assets were imposed by the European Union as a condition of allowing Kraft's February takeover of Cadbury PLC (CDSCY). The company whittled down the list of potential buyers to a shortlist of six, including two buyout firms and four strategic players. Earlier, sources told Dow Jones Newswires the final bids were due by the third week of June, or June 14. Now, people familiar with the matter said final bids are due during this week but that the actual day of the deadline is flexible and seems to vary by bidder. One person said bidders had until Friday, while another said one bidder had been given an extension until Wednesday. The shortlist of potential bidders includes Bridgepoint and Advent International, along with Swiss giant Nestle SA (NESN.VX), and Hershey Co. (HSY) of the U.S. Poland's Jutrzenka Holding SA (JTZ.WA) also made the cut, and will be backed by a local private equity fund if it wins, a person familiar with the matter said. One source familiar with the process told Dow Jones Newswires that Ukrainian confectioner Roshen may no longer be in the running. HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC) is running the auction for Cadbury-Wedel Polska, one of Cadbury's Polish businesses, while BNP Paribas SA (BNP.FR) has been hired to run the sale of the Romanian business, Kandia-Excelent. Wedel is valued at about 770 million zlotys ($231 million) or 11 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of about 70 million zlotys, people said. Part of the problem with valuing the transaction is that it is an asset carve out and not a freestanding business. Several people familiar with the situation said that Wedel is more likely to be bought by a strategic player than a private equity firm, which wouldn't have the same level of synergies that a large multinational or local company would bring. -By Marynia Kruk and Marietta Cauchi, Dow Jones Newswires; +48 22 447-2431; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 16, 2010 09:48 ET (13:48 GMT)