The latest news, trends, analysis, interviews and podcasts from the global food and beverage industry

Cadbury Schweppes of the UK has finally chosen May as the month in which it will split its global confectionery business and its American beverage operations.

Assuming the management’s plan is approved by stockholders at the annual meeting on 11 April, shares in the confectionery business – to be renamed Cadbury plc – will be listed on the London Stock Exchange on 2 May.

Shares in the Dr Pepper Snapple Group (DPSG) – formerly known as Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages (CSAB) – will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange on 7 May.

Cadbury first announced it would separate the two businesses in March last year. The company said both operations would be more successful as independent companies.

However, market observers speculated that the move had also been prompted by so-called `activist investor' Nelson Peltz, whose Trian company owns about 4.5% of Cadbury Schweppes. Peltz is known for pressuring managements to pay back more to shareholders.

Cadbury’s original hope was to sell off CSAB to a private equity group. But that plan had to be abandoned when the global credit crunch made it difficult if not impossible for would-be buyers to raise the necessary finance.

In October, the group’s management said it would instead establish the confectionery and soft drinks operations as two independent businesses, with existing shareholders being issued stock in both companies.

Cadbury has secured $3.8 billion in loans from five major banks – JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs Credit Partners, Morgan Stanley and UBS – to fund the demerger, and ensure that DPSG is financially viable as an independent entity.