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Kraft to sell Cadbury's Polish unit as part of EU antitrust regulations

Kraft Foods Inc., the world's biggest confectioner after its takeover of Cadbury Plc, will sell Cadbury's E. Wedel unit in Poland to Japan's Lotte Group, as required by European regulators.

About 1,000 workers at the chocolatier will transfer to Tokyo-based Lotte, Kraft said in a statement today, without disclosing the price.

Northfield-based Kraft's $17.6 billion acquisition of Cadbury was approved by the European Commission in January on the condition that it sell E. Wedel and Cadbury's chocolate business in Romania. The sale of the Romanian unit will be announced at a later date, spokeswoman Claire Regan said.

The Polish and Romanian businesses account for about $200 million in annual revenue, Kraft Chief Executive Officer Irene Rosenfeld said in an interview in February.

HSBC advised Kraft on the E. Wedel transaction.

Cadbury bought Warsaw-based Wedel, Poland's biggest and oldest chocolate maker, from PepsiCo Inc. in 1998.