An all-out bidding war may be brewing for the rights to Cadbury as major names in the food industry line up for a piece of the Creme Egg purveyor. There are several ways interested investors can capitalize on the battle via food- and consumer staples-focused exchange traded funds (ETFs).
Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) kicked things off by bidding for Cadbury (NYSE: CBY), which declined the offer. Now other names could be lining up, including Hershey (NYSE: HSY), Pepsi (NYSE: PEP), Nestle and Mars. Don Dion for The Street reports that several types of ETFs, from food to consumer staples, can provide exposure and give investors the opportunity to capitalize on this battle.
- PowerShares Dynamic Foods (NYSEArca: PBJ): up 7.3% year-to-date; holds large, top consumer goods companies; Pepsi is 4.2%
- Consumer Staples SPDR (NYSEArca: XLP): up 7.3% year-to-date; highly concentrated holdings and is the largest ETF in the group; with 40 holdings, 66% of assets are given to top 10 companies; Kraft is 4%; Pepsi is 4.3%
- Vanguard Consumer (NYSEArca: VDC): up 9.7% year-to-date; holds 110 companies and tracks closely to XLP; Pepsi is 6.7%; Kraft is 3.5%
- iShares Consumer Goods (NYSEArca: IYK): up 14.3% year-to-date; IYK’s holdings include large, mature firms that offer stable returns, but does not offer any retail exposure that the others do; has a higher expense ratio of 0.48%; Pepsi is 8.8%; Kraft is 3.5%
The bidding over Cadbury could drag on for months, and the attention that it could draw to the sector make these funds interesting buys in the meantime.
For more stories about consumer staples, visit our consumer staples category.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.