The Hershey Co. has announced that it does not intend to make an offer for Cadbury and issued a statement pursuant to Rule 2.8 of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the "Code"):

For the purposes of Rule 2.8 of the Code, Hershey reserves the right to announce or participate in an offer or possible offer for Cadbury and/or to take any other action which would otherwise be restricted under Rule 2.8 of the City Code within six months of the date of this announcement:

(i) with the agreement or recommendation of the board of directors of Cadbury should the final offer made by Kraft Foods on 19 January 2010 not become or be declared wholly unconditional; or
(ii) following an announcement of an offer by or on behalf of a third party for Cadbury; or
(iii) following an announcement by or on behalf of Cadbury of a "whitewash" proposal or a reverse takeover (in each case as defined in the Code); or
(iv) if there is a material change of circumstances.

The statement was issued following The Hershey Company's announcement on November 18, 2009 that it was reviewing its options with respect to a potential offer for Cadbury. The UK Takeover Panel issued a ruling that by 7 a.m. on Monday, January 25, The Hershey Company was required to either announce a firm intention to make an offer for Cadbury under Rule 2.5 of the Code or announce that it does not intend to make an offer for Cadbury.