The management of Kamps, the German bakery group, has agreed to recommend an improved bid of €12.50 a share from Barilla, the Italian pasta and food group, to its shareholders, avoiding a protracted and messy hostile takeover battle.

The decision by Kamps to accept the increased offer from Barilla underlines how the German market has become more amenable to unsolicited bids since the bitter hostile acquisition of Mannesmann by Vodafone in 2000.