3 April, 2009
CADBURY CONCLUDES SALE OF ITS AUSTRALIAN BEVERAGES BUSINESS
Cadbury plc ("Cadbury") announces today that it has completed the sale of the
Schweppes Beverages business in Australia ("Schweppes Australia") to Asahi
Breweries, Ltd for a cash consideration of approximately £550m (AUD1,185m). Net
proceeds in 2009* after costs and other charges are expected to be around £475m
and will be used to reduce Cadbury's net debt.
Todd Stitzer, CEO of Cadbury, said: "The successful sale of Schweppes Australia
has completed Cadbury's transformation into a pure-play total confectionery
business. Cadbury is now well positioned with a clear strategy to improve
performance, a competitively differentiated portfolio of strong brands and
attractive markets, and a committed management team with the capabilities and
experience to deliver our plan."
* Additional cash costs totalling around £20m are expected to be incurred as a
result of separation activities in 2010 and 2011.
Ends
For further information
Cadbury plc +44 1895 615000
http://www.cadbury.com
Capital Market Enquiries
John Dawson +44 1895 615124
Media Enquiries
Alex Harrison +44 1895 615011
Finsbury
Rollo Head +44 20 7251 3801
About Cadbury
Cadbury is one of the world's largest confectionery businesses with number one
or number two positions in over 20 of the world's 50 biggest confectionery
markets. It also has the largest and most broadly spread emerging markets
business of any confectionery company. With origins stretching back nearly 200
years, Cadbury's brands include many global, regional and local favourites
including Cadbury Dairy Milk, Flake, Creme Egg and Green & Black's in
chocolate; Trident, Dentyne, Hollywood and Bubbaloo in gum; and Halls, Cadbury
Eclairs, Bassett's and The Natural Confectionery Company in candy.
Forward Looking Statements
Except for historical information and discussions contained herein, statements
contained in these materials may constitute "forward looking statements" within
the meaning of Section 27A of the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and
Section 21E of the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward
looking statements are generally identifiable by the fact that they do not
relate only to historical or current facts or by the use of the
words "may", "will", "should", "plan", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate",
"believe", "intend", "project", "goal" or "target" or the negative of these
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looking statements involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties
and other factors that could cause our or our industry's actual results, levels
of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any
future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or
implied by such forward looking statements. These forward looking statements
are based on numerous assumptions regarding the present and future strategies
of each business and the environment in which they will operate in the future.
In evaluating forward looking statements, you should consider general economic
conditions in the markets in which we operate, as well as the risk factors
outlined in our Form 20-F filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission
and posted on Cadbury plc's website www.cadbury.com. These materials should be
viewed in conjunction with our periodic half yearly and annual reports and
other filings filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange
Commission, copies of which are available from Cadbury plc, Cadbury House,
Uxbridge Business Park, Sanderson Road, Uxbridge UB8 1DH, UK and from the
Securities and Exchange Commission's website at www.sec.gov. Cadbury plc does
not undertake publicly to update or revise any forward looking statement that
may be made in these materials, whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise. All subsequent oral or written forward-looking statements
attributable to Cadbury plc or any person acting on their behalf are expressly
qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements above.
END
CADBURY PLC