Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) rose in premarket trade after Pershing Square's Bill Ackman told CNBC the snack maker could be an acquisition target.
Shares were up as much as 0.8% as of 8:46 a.m. in New York.
"Either the current team will get the business to its potential in reasonably rapid fashion, or it will be a target," Reuters cited Ackman as telling CNBC television in reference to Mondelez.
Ackman has built a stake worth about $5.5bn in Mondelez, the maker of Cadbury chocolate and Oreo cookies.
Investors and analysts have speculated that the Deerfield, Illinois-based company could combine with Kraft Heinz.
Kraft and Mondelez used to be the same company until their split in 2012. Last March, Kraft said it was merging with ketchup-maker H.J. Heinz in a deal backed by 3G Capital, a Brazilian private equity firm known for cutting costs.