Citi notes Mondelez (MDLZ) issued a press release that announced a new $9B share repurchase authorization and noted that the company “remains committed to an acquisition strategy that is focused on bolt-on assets similar to recent acquisitions of Chipita, Clif and Ricolino.” Following reports earlier this week that said Mondelez was exploring an acquisition of Hershey (HSY), Citi says such a deal would seem to fall outside the bounds of “bolt-on” M&A, adding that the continued share buyback activity would also seem to suggest that Mondelez did not pare back on repurchase activity, all of which “throws cold water” on a potential Hershey takeover. Citi has a Buy rating and $78 price target on Mondelez shares.
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