Murray Goulburn boss Gary Helou has declared that Australian farmers have reached a ‘fork in the road’ in deciding the Australian dairy industry’s future, as the company launches a rival $420m bid for listed rival Warrnambool Cheese and Butter, trumping Canada’s Saputo.
The move marks the latest twist in the three-way battle for the western Victorian agribusiness player after NSW-based Bega initially made a move on WCB.
Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Factory’s second-largest shareholder has launched a $420m bid for the Australian dairy company, trumping two previous offers and fanning speculation of an even higher bid. Murray Goulburn Co-operative, which owns about 17% of WCB, is offering $7.50 per share in cash, more than the $7 per share bid from Canada’s Saputo. Australian company Bega Cheese, WBC’s largest shareholder with almost 18%, had kicked off the bidding war with an initial cash and share offer worth $5.78 per share in September.
“The question now is what Saputo does from here,” said Mark Topy, senior industrials analyst at Canaccord Genuity. “Bega is an outside chance to bid higher but Saputo, they’re a big global company, they’ve got the pockets to bid higher.”
Bega could also find itself in Saputo’s sights, Topy added. “They could bid for Bega Cheese and then put their foot on Warrnambool Holdings as well, so the market is pretty hot at the moment.”
Murray Goulburn said it had secured financing for the deal, which it said would create one of the top-20 dairy companies in the world and protect the interests of Australian dairy farmers.
Source: The Guardian/Sydney Morning Herald
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