Cadbury bid

US chocolate maker Hershey plans to bid at least 17.9 billion dollars next week for British confectioner Cadbury after concluding it can top US food giant Kraft's offer, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Hershey was finalizing a financing package that now includes a loan of at least 10 billion dollars from banks, five billion in new Hershey shares and at least three billion from private investors and the Hershey trust, the Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter. The move would be the latest twist in an international chocolate bidding war that has seen the Cadbury board repeatedly reject Kraft's cash and shares hostile offer.