Hershey credit protection costs soar on bid news

NEW YORK Nov 18 (Reuters) - The cost to protect Hershey Co's (HSY.N) debt with credit default swaps doubled on Wednesday after sources said Hershey and Italy's Ferrero would mount a $16-billion plus bid for Cadbury Plc CBRY.L.

Some analysts and investors still see U.S. hostile bidder Kraft Foods Inc (KFT.N) as the front-runner, yet five-year credit default swaps of Hershey rose to 85 basis points, more than double the 42 basis points level on Oct. 5, the last most significant trade, according to data from Phoenix Partners Group.

(Reporting by Walden Siew; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)