Unilever Lifts Deadline on Bid for Bestfoods

Unilever lifted the deadline on its unsolicited bid for Bestfoods and said it’s ready to meet with the target company’s board to negotiate a deal. The Anglo Dutch food and consumer products company had set a deadline of close of U.S. business Thursday for a response to its $18.41-billion cash offer for Bestfoods, after the U.S. group rejected the bid. “We’ve already responded to their offer. Our board of directors has unanimously rejected it. I think we have made our position very clear,” Bestfoods spokeswoman Gale Griffin said. Shares of Englewood Cliffs, N.J.-based Bestfoods rose 83 cents to close at $62.08, while Unilever’s American depositary receipts closed up 69 cents at $23.25, both on the NYSE.