Hersheys chocolate. Like baseball and apple pie, it was an American icon.

So
whenHersheys largest shareholder proposed selling the company in early 2002, the
residents of Hershey, Pennsylvania, the state attorney general, legislators, and current
and former Hersheyemployees reacted with alarm. For them, the idea of selling the
Great American Chocolate Barwas an insult to a beloved American institution and a
threat to the principles on which MiltonHershey had built his company.Unlike most large
corporations, Hershey Foods majority shareholder was not a corporateraider,
institutional investor, or multinational, but rather the Hershey Trust Company,
whichowned 77% of its voting stock. The trust had been endowed by a gift, in 1918, by
MiltonHershey himself, with the objective of supporting the Milton Hershey School, an
institution for orphans in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Nevertheless, in March 2002, the
Hershey Trusts board of trustees decided that the school would be better served if its
holdings were less concentrated inHershey stock. Therefore, the Hershey Trust
announced its decision to sell its entire stake inHershey Foods, which effectively put
the corporation up for sale.Six months after making its decision to explore a potential
sale, the board of the HersheyTrust Company was examining two serious offers: a joint
bid from Cadbury Schweppes PLC and Nestl S.A. and an independent bid from
the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company. The primary questionfor the boards 17 members was
whether Hershey had been accurately valued by the bidders and,if so, whether the
economic value created through the deal was consistent with their obligation
tosafeguard Hersheys legacy of community involvemen
La fbrica de chocolates Hershey's. Constituye un icono americano como el bisbol y el
pastel de manzana., As que cuando el accionista ms grande de Hershey propuso

vender la empresa a principios de 2002, los residentes de Hershey,

Pennsylvania, el fiscal general del estado, los legisladores y Hershey y
exempleados reaccionaron con alarma. Para ellos, la idea de vender la "Great
American Chocolate Bar" fue un insulto a una querida institucin
estadounidense y una amenaza para los principios en que Milton Hershey
construy su empresa. A diferencia de la mayora de las grandes
corporaciones, el accionista mayoritario de Hershey Foods no fue una empresa
innovadora, inversionistas institucionales, o una multinacional, sino ms bien la
compaa fiduciaria Hershey (HTC) que es propietaria del 77% de sus acciones
con derecho a voto. El fideicomiso haba sido creado como un regalo, en 1918,
por Milton Hershey a s mismo, con el objetivo de apoyar a la escuela de Milton
Hershey, una institucin para hurfanos en Hershey, Pennsylvania. Sin
embargo, en marzo de 2002, junta directiva que comprende a los
fideicomisarios del fideicomiso Hershey decidi que la escuela sera mejor
servida si sus fondos se concentran menos en acciones de Hershey. Por lo
tanto, el fidecomiso Hershey anunci su decisin de vender su participacin
completa en Hershey Foods, que efectivamente puso a la Corporacin en
venta. Seis meses despus de su decisin de explorar una posible venta, la
Junta Directiva de la compaa fiduciaria Hershey estaba examinando dos
ofertas serias: una oferta conjunta de Cadbury Schweppes PLC y Nestl S.A.
y una oferta independiente oferta de la empresa WM. Wrigley Jr. La pregunta principal
para los 17 miembros de la junta fue si Hershey haba sido valorado con
precisin por los postores, y si por lo tanto el valor econmico creado a travs
de la oferta era consistente con su obligacin de salvaguardar el legado de
Hershey de participacin en la comunidad, adicionalmente de proveer una
prima justa para los accionistas de HTC.