A tasty rumour was doing the rounds today in New York, with shares in Oreo cookies firm Mondelez International (NASDAQ:MDLZ) jumping higher after a report suggested that merged food giant Kraft-Heinz Co. (NASDAQ:KHC) is looking at bidding for the snack giant.
Traders highlighted the chatter, made initially in Swiss economic magazine, Bilanz, which sent Mondelez shares 12% higher in pre-market trading, although they settled back with around a 4% advance after Reuters reported sources as saying that Mondelez has not heard from Kraft-Heinz.
Mondelez – which controversially acquired British chocolate giant Cadburys in 2010 – itself was spun-off by Kraft in 2012.
In June, the board of US chocolate firm Hershey Co. (NYSE:HSY) unanimously rejected a takeover offer from Mondelez.
At the time, commentators had suggested that Mondelez was seeking a deal in order to remain an independent company and not become an acquisition target itself.
Mondelez has been under pressure from activist investor William Ackman to either grow its revenue faster or sell itself to a rival. Mondelez shares have fallen by around 4% in the year to date.
Kraft-Heinz shares were around 1% higher today. The group was formed in July 2015 by the merger of Ritz crackers and Jell-O maker Kraft Foods with baked beans to soups group HJ Heinz.