Kraft Foods Inc. on Tuesday hit a major hurdle in its battle for Cadbury plc when its own largest shareholder, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc., advised co-investors to vote against its plans to issue stock to pay for the bulk of the U.K. confectioner.
Berkshire Hathaway, which controls 9.4% of Kraft shares, appeared on the scene just hours after Kraft tamed a major competitor for Cadbury with an unexpected $3.7 billion asset sale to Nestlé SA. The deal, involving North American pizza brands, provided the Northfield, Ill., foodmaker with funds to increase the cash portion of its Cadbury offer and may have influenced the Vevey, Switzerland-based company's decision to abstain from the Cadbury bidding. Nestlé confirmed it wouldn't participate on Tuesday after Takeover Panel intervention, dashing hopes that it could form a rival bid partnership with declared Cadbury suitors Hershey Co. or Ferrero International SA.
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