Hostile Bids: Back To The Golden Age

Kraft's bid for Cadbury has put hostile bids back in the spotlight. Indeed, there has been a significant resurgence of hostile bids in recent months. According to FactSet SharkRepellent, unfriendly takeovers have accounted for 21% of the number of M&As this year, compared to 24% in all of 2008 and 7% in 2007. It is intriguing that the rise in hostile bids has not been followed by a rise in the classic takeover defence called poison pill, whereby a company can issue vast amounts of shares to friendly investors, thereby greatly reducing the value of shares already bought by the

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