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		</div><p>Unilever has snubbed the opportunity to seal one of the biggest deals in corporate history by rejecting a €134bn mega-merger with Kraft Heinz.</p>
<p>The Anglo-Dutch company issued a strongly-worded rebuttal after Kraft Heinz tabled an offer representing an 18% premium on Unilever&#8217;s closing share price of $50 per share (€47) on February 16.</p>
<p>Unilever, which saw its London stock value rocket 12% on the news, said the approach &#8220;fundamentally undervalues&#8221; the firm and demanded shareholders take no action.</p>
<p>The Pot Noodle maker said it saw <i>&#8220;no merit, either financial or strategic, for Unilever&#8217;s shareholders&#8221;,</i> adding: <i>&#8220;Unilever does not see the basis for any further discussions.&#8221;</i></p>
<p>Kraft Heinz remained optimistic that a deal could still be reached, stating: <i>&#8220;While Unilever has declined the proposal, we look forward to working to reach agreement on the terms of a transaction.&#8221;</i></p>
<p>The US food giant, whose brands range from Heinz Tomato Ketchup and Philadelphia cheese, now has until March 17 to table an official bid.</p>
<p>If successful, the tie-up would be the biggest acquisition of a British company on record based on offer value.</p>
<p>Steve Clayton, fund manager at Hargreaves Lansdown, said such a move would create enormous cost savings.</p>
<p><i>&#8220;Putting portfolios of brands together can create huge synergies across marketing, manufacturing and distribution, even before you think about cutting the combined HQ back to size.</p>
<p>&#8220;Kraft Heinz are attempting a massive push on the fast forward button, for to acquire the sheer scale of brands that Unilever represents through one-off acquisitions could take decades.</p>
<p>&#8220;With debt cheap and abundant right now, Kraft have spotted their opportunity.&#8221;</i></p>
<p>Kraft came under fire in 2010 after pledging to keep a Cadbury factory open in Somerdale near Bath, only to change its mind soon after securing a £11.5bn (€13.44bn) hostile takeover of the UK chocolate firm.</p>
<p>In 2012, the Chicago-based business spun off the Dairy Milk-maker into a new company called Mondelez.</p>
<p>Kraft Heinz was born three years later after Kraft Foods became the subject of $45bn (€42bn) takeover by HJ Heinz Co, owned by US business magnate Warren Buffett&#8217;s Berkshire Hathaway and Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital.</p>
<p>The proposed tie-up with Unilever comes amid a gloomy outlook for UK shoppers as the Brexit-hit pound begins to push up the cost of products on supermarket shelves.</p>
<p>Inflation reached a two-and-a-half-year high in January at 1.8% after more expensive food and fuel bumped up the cost of living.</p>
<p>Unilever chief executive Paul Polman said in January that Britain should &#8220;get used to&#8221; price rises following sterling&#8217;s Brexit-induced collapse.</p>
<p>His comments came just months after the company was locked in a stand-off with Tesco over a 10% price hike, leaving Britain&#8217;s largest supermarket grappling with a shortage of store cupboard staples &#8211; including Marmite, Pot Noodle and Persil &#8211; before the dispute was resolved.</p>
<p>Unilever announced last month that annual pre-tax profit rose to €7.47bn from €7.2bn last year, but revenues dropped 1% to €52.7bn, while underlying sales rose by a lower-than-expected 3.7%.</p>
<p>Kraft Heinz shares were up more than 7% when the US stock market opened.</p>
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