The bidding war for US group Nabisco erupted this week. Danone and even Cadbury Schweppes joined American corporate raider Carl Icahn and Philip Morris in tabling bids for Nabisco. At the same time, Nestlé and PepsiCo are said to have walked away from the auction, which could value Nabisco at up to $15bn. Campbell Soup is another of those believed to be interested. Danone confirmed it had entered preliminary talks about buying the group, while Cadbury Schweppes said it was interested in acquiring complementary parts. But the giant Philip Morris, which owns Kraft Foods, is still favourite to clinch a deal. It emerged as the frontrunner last month when Nabisco effectively put itself up for sale in the wake of Icahn's repeated takeover attempts (The Grocer, April 15, p18). This is the latest development in an emerging trend for major consolidation among global manufacturers. Unilever is trying to buy Bestfoods for $18bn on the back of its takeover of Ben & Jerry's and Slimfast. The company this week warned it would not pay any more for Bestfoods unless the US company was prepared to come to the negotiating table. And Sara Lee is reported to be lining up deals to acquire US bakery company Flowers and US cookie supplier Keebler. {{NEWS }}

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