Kraft Foods’ drawn-out hostile £10.2 billion takeover bid for Cadbury is entering its final stages with other players still poised to move in.

A resulting merger would have huge implications for New Zealand and Australia where both companies own manufacturing plants and are market leaders in confectionery and other food products.

The UK confectionery giant remains adamantly opposed to any takeover while on the sidelines, two other chocolate companies, Ferrero and Hershey, are positioning themselves for a possible slice of the action.

The standoff between global food and confectionery giants Kraft Foods and Cadbury has taken a new twist with rumoured talks of a new takeover bid from chocolate companies Hershey and Ferrero.

The Wall Street Journal, quoting sources said to be familiar with the matter, says high-level talks have been going on for several weeks.

Last week, Cadbury described a hostile $US16.7 cash and shares bid from Kraft as “derisory” but since Kraft’s intentions were made public in September no rival bidders have surfaced – until now.

Distribution and marketing business SellAgence is facing the possibility of job cuts after two of its major brands axed their contracts with the company in the face of the global credit crunch.

The grocery and fast moving consumer goods market manager is now searching for new opportunities in a bid to retain staff, after Proctor and Gamble and Ferrero both elected to make changes to their local marketing strategies.

Both brands are expected to have concluded their current arrangements with SellAgence by the middle of the year.