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While Stitzer and his management team were planning global domination of the confectionery world, Cadbury Schweppes investors were worrying about the company’s financial performance. In early 2006, the company decided to off-load its European soft drinks brands, which included Orangina and Oasis, for €1.85bn to private equity fund Lion Capital and hedge fund Blackstone. (Three years later, after increasing sales and profits, Lion and Blackstone sold Orangina Schweppes to Japan’s Suntory Group for €2.6bn.) The sale led to market speculation that Cadbury might also be on the verge of selling its US drinks brands and the company’s stock price rose. In public, however, Cadbury executives remained tight-lipped.
The year 2006 was a bad one for Cadbury. Salmonella contamination in some of its British factories forced it to recall more than a million chocolate bars, a safety breach that earnt a £1m fine. Its profits were hit by an accounting scandal in Nigeria, and the Fuel for Growth plan missed its financial targets.
What investors didn’t know was that in October 2006, Cadbury’s management had recommended to the board that it should get rid of the
