JP Morgan, BofA gear up to fund Hershey's Cadbury bid

Two global lenders--JP Morgan and Bank of America (BofA) are preparing to lend US chocolate maker Hershey about $7 billion to bid for British confectionery major Cadbury, says a media report.

"JP Morgan and Bank of America are preparing to lend Hershey about $7 billion (4.2 billion pounds) to help it enter a bidding war for Cadbury," The Telegraph reported.

Hershey is said to be working on plans to launch a possible 10.3 billion pounds offer for the UK chocolate company.

The report said that Hershey's potential bid would comprise 6.1 billion pounds in cash and 1.2 billion pounds in shares, plus a cash injection of up to 3 billion pounds from the US chocolate maker's American investors.

Hershey would try to make approach the US food major after details Kraft's USD 16.2 billion offer are disclosed.

The daily said, Kraft must post its offer document by December 7. However it is expected that Kraft will post the document ahead of schedule this week.

Attributing to Cadbury Chief Executive Todd Stitzer, the report said, Stitzer has indicated support for a possible tie-up with Hershey, rather than Kraft.

"I would prefer Cadbury to be in an environment where its values and principles could continue," the report said citing Stitzer.