By Jessica Hall

U.S. chocolate maker Hershey is considering launching a bid of at least $17 billion for British chocolatier Cadbury as it seeks to trump a hostile offer by Kraft Foods Inc, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday.

By Jessica Hall and Victoria Howley

The players in the potential bidding war for British candy maker Cadbury PLC and some of their best-known products:

Hershey Co. may make a $17 billion bid for UK candy company Cadbury PLC, topping the recent $16.5 billion hostile offer by Kraft Foods Inc., the Wall Street Journal reports Friday.

By David Jones and Brad Dorfman

Shares of British chocolate maker Cadbury rose back above 800 pence for the first time in almost a month on hopes Hershey and Ferrero would mount a bid to rival that of U.S. food giant Kraft.

Chocolate makers Hershey and Ferrero International SA confirmed  they are considering a possible offer for Cadbury, which is already the target of a hostile bid by Kraft Foods Inc.

Hershey Co. has been working with Italian chocolate maker Ferrero Spa to craft a possible joint bid for Cadbury PLC, according to a published report.

Hedge fund billionaire John Paulson raised his firm's stake in Cadbury on Wednesday and now holds 2.54 percent of the British confectioner, the subject of a hostile bid by U.S. food group Kraft.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission has set a one-month deadline to review Kraft Foods Inc's <KFT.N> $16 billion hostile bid for British chocolate maker Cadbury <CBRY.L> after the U.S. food group notified EU regulators.

Ralcorp Holdings Inc. said Tuesday its fiscal fourth-quarter profit nearly doubled on higher sales and a boost from its acquisition of Post Foods.

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Kraft Foods has gone hostile in its bid to buy Cadbury but didn't sweeten its first bid, drawing an immediate rejection from the British candy maker in what is likely to be a lengthy takeover struggle.

In her biggest gambit yet for Kraft Foods, Irene Rosenfeld just won't blink. Rosenfeld took her offer for British chocolatier Cadbury hostile on Monday, submitting to its shareholders a $16.4 billion cash and stock bid rejected as "derisory" by the company's leadership.