Cadbury is tipped for Hershey bid

CADBURY Schweppes is being hotly tipped as a bidder for all-American chocolate group Hershey Foods, set to go up for sale at about $10 billion (£6.6 billion).

The British company already has a close working relationship with America's biggest chocolate producer, which makes a host of Cadbury's products for US consumers including Fruit and Nut, Dairy Milk and Roasted Almond bars.

Cadbury chief executive John Sunderland has said he is keen to pursue strategic acquisitions, but the company refused to comment on Hershey.

Other bidders are likely to include NestlÈ, PepsiCo and Philip Morris.