Could the merger between the two food manufacturers, the UK’s Cadbury and the US’s Kraft put the new company in a monopoly position in Poland?

After a long battle, a hostile takeover of the 186-year-old confectioner from Britain by American company Kraft now looks certain after the Cadbury board recommended the deal. Cadbury accepted the Kraft’s offer of 840 pence a share, valuing the company at 18.9 billion dollars.

As a result of the merger of the British family company from Birmingham with the US candy producer, the biggest confectioners in the world will emerge.  And this means Poland’s most trusted and traditional brand of chocolate could soon become American too! Analysts are wondering, too, whether the merger could breach EU competition rules.
So far the companies have fiercely competed with each other on the Polish market. Cadbury, which in 1999 bought Wedel, which produces chocolate and the famous Polish delicacy Ptasie Mleczko, while Kraft produces Milka and Alpen Gold chocolates and Alpejskie Mleczko.

Now, the European Commission has requested that the newly-emerged company sells E. Wedel in order to avoid monopolization of the Polish confectioners market.