Unilever rejects $143 billion Kraft offer as too low

Unilever rejected a surprise $143 billion takeover bid from U.S. food company Kraft Heinz Co on Friday, saying it saw no reason to discuss a deal it said had no financial or strategic merit.

    http://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AAn7QJ1.img?h=75&w=100&m=6&q=60&u=t&o=t&l=f  Iran test launches 'advanced' rockets    Unilever rejected a surprise $143 billion takeover bid from U.S. food company Kraft Heinz Co on Friday, saying it saw no reason to discuss a deal it said had no financial or strategic merit.
          Quotes in the article        Unilever PLC UL    â–²  48.53    +5.96 +14.00%        Thomson Reuters Corp TRI    â–²  44.94    +0.05 +0.11%        Berkshire Hathaway Inc BRK.B    â–²  168.57    +0.83 +0.49%        But while Unilever, the maker of Lipton tea and Dove soap, said the $50-per-share offer undervalued it and recommended its shareholders take no action, Kraft Heinz said it looked forward to "working to reach agreement on the terms of a transaction."
Analysts saw this as a sign Kraft was open to a higher bid, although the Anglo-Dutch company said in a statement it saw no basis for further talks. Unilever shares jumped as much as 14 percent to a record high. They were up 13 percent at 37.79 pounds ($46.92) at 1338 GMT, short of the offer price.
A combination of the two multinationals would be the third-biggest takeover in history and the biggest ever acquisition of a UK-based company, according to Thomson Reuters data.