Sector News

Australia's Murray Goulburn says considering takeover approaches

September 21, 2017
Consumer Packaged Goods

Murray Goulburn Co-operative, Australia’s largest milk processor, said on Thursday it was considering several takeover approaches from suitors interested in acquiring the cooperative as a whole or some of its assets, but it had not received any formal offers.

“Murray Goulburn and its financial advisor Deutsche Bank are engaging with a number of parties to assess their proposals, including valuation,” the Australian dairy company said in a statement.

“Murray Goulburn notes there is no certainty that any transaction will eventuate.”

However, the dairy cooperative rejected local media speculation that China’s Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co Ltd submitted a takeover offer of A$1.20 ($0.9545) a share for Murray Goulburn’s listed entity, MG Unit Trust .

While Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group has yet to submit a formal approach, the Chinese dairy company said on Thursday it submitted a proposal to Murray Goulburn.

Shares in MG Unit Trust posted their biggest ever intraday percentage gain, soaring as much as 21.9 percent to a four-month high.

Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group is also likely to face competition, with Bega Cheese Ltd last month confirming it was also interested in acquiring its local competitor.

Murray Goulburn’s cooperative structure makes a full takeover difficult as 90 percent of its farmer owners would need to agree to a deal. But the company’s 10 processing plants and its dairy brands are likely to draw plenty of interest, analysts said.

Murray Goulburn has been forced to consider takeover approaches as the company reels from a ill-fated Asian expansion that drove the cooperative to report last month its first annual loss since its 2015 listing.

Murray Goulburn, which has A$735 million in equity and A$444.5 million in net debt, had sought to expand aggressively in Asia. But sales to China fell far below expectations and it was forced to cut the price it paid suppliers by up to 20 percent. ($1 = 1.2572 Australian dollars)

By Colin Packham

Source: Reuters

comments closed

Related News

March 24, 2024

Aldi’s new flat and stackable wine bottles “make light work of heavy shopping baskets”

Consumer Packaged Goods

Collaborating with Packamama, Aldi has rolled out the “UK’s first” supermarket own-brand flat wine bottles within its Chapter & Verse label. The recyclable ergonomic packaging concept is made from 100% recycled PET (rPET) and available for shiraz and chardonnay options.

March 24, 2024

Health, sustainability, and a taste for adventure drive snacking behaviors: Mondelēz State of Snacking report

Consumer Packaged Goods

For the fifth year in a row, global consumers expressed a preference for snacking over traditional meals, with six in 10 consumers saying they’d rather eat several small meals throughout the day than a few large ones, according to the fifth annual State of Snacking report from Mondelēz International. Nearly nine in 10 (88%) consumers snack daily.

March 24, 2024

Shareholders challenge Nestlé to increase sales of healthy foods

Consumer Packaged Goods

The shareholders are urging Nestlé to set a target to boost the proportion of its sales from healthier products amid concerns regarding regulatory, reputational and legal risks faced by the company, as well as the public health implications “associated with an over-reliance on less healthy foods”.

How can we help you?

We're easy to reach