With Kraft's release of its offer document, its battle to take over Cadbury begins in earnest and Todd Stitzer, Cadbury chief executive, has made its ethical heritage a central feature of its defence.

Cadbury's Quaker founders took a moral approach. “This is not necessarily the heritage of competitors,” Mr Stitzer said. “The Cadburys were principled capitalists; they believed you could make a profit and do the right thing . . . We want to keep those values alive.”

There are several reasons why a Kraft acquisition of Cadbury might be a bad idea. Corporate takeovers seldom do many people much good, apart from the investment bankers and the acquired company's shareholders, who get to sell their shares at a premium. Takeovers rarely add value to the acquirer and often lead to job losses and factory closures at the acquired company.