Rothschild star and Buffett banker circle Cadbury

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Akeel Sachak, global head of the consumer team at Rothschild, may get a seat at the table for this year's sweetest deal after all.

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS secured the coveted roles defending Cadbury against Kraft's USD 16.7 billion hostile offer, but the Rothschild rainmaker is now advising Italy's Ferrero as it looks at the British chocolatier and could spark a bidding war.

He'll be in good company if US chocolate maker Hershey Company, which is also considering a bid for Cadbury and has held talks with Ferrero about a joint offer, steps into the frame.

Hershey's advisers include Warren Buffett's chosen banker Byron Trott and, for some proxy celebrity pizzazz, Jamie Grant, the older brother of actor Hugh Grant.

"This is the situation everyone wants to be involved in. It is the biggest bid in London and the consumer sector. It is what everyone is talking about," said a head of UK investment banking at a top London firm.

Sachak, who joined Rothschild after leaving Oxford University, brings insight to his appointment for the secretive, family-owned Ferrero, the maker of Ferrero Rocher chocolates and Nutella chocolate spread. Ferrero has yet to make an acquisition in its 60-year history.

Sachak has worked for Cadbury on a number of acquisitions and has advised other companies that have bought some of the confectioner's assets.

He helped Cadbury cement its position as one of the leading players in the high margin global gum business, when it gobbled up Turkey's Intergum for USD 450 million in 2007.

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