In early August, a surprise announcement from Kerry Group’s rival, DuPont, sent Kerry’s share price surging to an all-time high. DuPont announced it was putting its ingredients business up for sale. The price: at least $20 billion. There could only be a small number of possible buyers: Royal DSM, International Flavours & Fragrances, Givaudan, and Kerry Group. That was the starting shot. A month later it was reported Kerry’s rival, DSM, was in the running, with an offer valuing the DuPont business at $25 billion. And on Friday, a Bloomberg report that Kerry was the leading bidder sent Kerry’s shares…