After a UK newspaper broke the news of Nelson Peltz's interest in building shareholdings in Mondelez International and PepsiCo Inc, share values for the two companies increased in Friday's trading.

The Daily Telegraph reported, citing anonymous sources familiar with the situation, that the activist shareholder is spending US$2 billion in shares for the two companies through his investment firm Trian Fund Management. There is also speculation that the two food giants would be merged into one conglomerate.

When pressed for comment, a PepsiCo spokesperson said, "We are making strong progress in our strategy to deliver long-term growth and create shareholder value. We do not see the need for any large scale M&A." 

Trian declined to make a comment on the newsreport. Mondelez declined to make a comment on rumors or speculations, but it said it was pleased with their current portfolio standing. 

Because of the rumored takeover, Mondelez share prices increased by 4% to US$29.70 on the Nasdaq while Pepsico increased by 2.2% to US$77.80 on the NYSE.