Cadbury's Owner Abandons Hershey Takeover

The owner of Cadbury's and Oreo has abandoned an £18bn ($23bn) offer for Hershey.

The deal would have created a global giant selling some of the world's best-known chocolates and snacks.

Hershey had rejected a preliminary offer from Mondelez in June.

Mondelez boss Irene Rosenfeld said a deal "combining two iconic American companies" would have created an "industry leader with global scale".

But she said that following further talks there was "no actionable path forward toward an agreement" and expressed disappointment.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in Hershey fell 11% in after-hours trading on Wall Street.

Mondelez - created in 2012 when it was spun off from Kraft - is the second largest confectionery company in the world, with Hershey at number five.

Kraft's £11.5bn takeover of Cadbury's in 2010 attracted controversy.

The company reneged on a pledge to keep open a plant near Bristol - resulting in 450 job losses.

Last year, Mondelez came under fire after it was revealed that it had paid no UK corporation tax in 2014.

It said it complied with all UK tax law.

Hershey's sales growth has slowed in the last two years amid expansion from rival Mars, and premium chocolate brands such as Lindt entering the US market.