The controlling shareholder in Hershey Foods said last night it was ending its auction of the famed confectionery maker after rejecting all bids.
The Hershey Trust Company, which controls 77 per cent of the shareholder voting rights in Hershey Foods, said it was asking company executives to end their search for a buyer.
The announcement ends a tumultuous period of nearly two months since the Trust Company first revealed a proposal to put the 108-year-old American icon up for sale.
Wall Street analysts had said Hershey Foods could fetch up to $12 billion from a rival food company such as Nestle, Cadbury Schweppes or Kraft Foods.
However, the plan met with a firestorm of protest from residents in central Pennsylvania, who feared a deal would mean plant closures and job losses in the vicinity of the company's hometown, Hershey.