Northfield, Illinois: Kraft Foods Inc, whose bid for Cadbury Plc was accepted last month, said fourth-quarter profit increased as sales outside the US grew.

Hershey Co may make a $17bn (€11.4bn) bid for UK confectioner Cadbury PLC, topping the recent $16.5bn (€11.1bn) hostile offer by Kraft Foods Inc, the Wall Street Journal reported.

A burst of corporate deal-making is giving investors a shot of confidence about the US economy.

The chairman of confectioner Cadbury PLC said that Kraft Foods Inc undervalued his company in a takeover offer, and he dismissed the suitor as a "low-growth conglomerate".