29-02-2012, 08:05 AM
The Straits Times
Feb 29, 2012
Wilmar buys 10.1% stake in Goodman Fielder
MELBOURNE: Singapore palm oil firm Wilmar International yesterday said it had acquired a 10.1 per cent stake in Goodman Fielder, Australia's largest listed food company, for US$124 million (S$156 million) and that its brands were a good fit.
The news sent Goodman Fielder shares soaring 30 per cent as investors bet on a potential takeover offer, but Wilmar said in a statement it was still assessing whether to increase its stake.
'We look forward to working with Goodman Fielder and its management team to improve Goodman Fielder's performance over time,' said Wilmar chairman and chief executive Kuok Khoon Hong.
Wilmar is among several Asian companies that have been snapping up Australian food businesses.
It bought Australia's largest sugar miller, CSR's Sucrogen, for A$1.75 billion (S$2.35 billion) in 2010, and last year took over Proserpine Sugar Cooperative for A$120 million.
It beat off competition for Proserpine from Chinese state-owned food giant Cofco Group, which earlier took over mid-sized sugar miller Tully Sugar.
Most recently, Thailand's Mitr Phol moved to complete the takeover of MSF Sugar.
Goodman Fielder is prized for its top-selling Australian brands, including Meadow Lea and Praise margarines, White Wings cake mixes, and Helga's and Vogel's breads.
Wilmar said the purchase would make it the largest shareholder in Goodman Fielder, adding that its brands were complementary to Wilmar's consumer business, which sells products in China, India, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Goodman Fielder said earlier that Wilmar already held a small stake in the company, and had been looking to buy some assets that it had put on the block.
It said in a statement it had not received any proposals from Wilmar or any other party to acquire the company.
The assets for sale include its New Zealand milling and its Integro Foods businesses, which make edible oils, breakfast cereals, sauces and cake mixes.
The Australasian firm, dual-listed in Australia and New Zealand, held talks with Wilmar over its interest in the Integro business after it was put up for sale last November.
Australian food manufacturers have been facing a tough market in recent years, with the main customers - Australia's top two supermarkets Woolworths and Coles - slashing prices in a bid to win customers, and squeezing the margins of suppliers.
Earlier this month, Goodman Fielder posted a 77 per cent slide in first-half net profit, citing a 'very tough' operating environment, and said it had cut 300 jobs.
It pointed to subdued consumer confidence, heavy discounting, a resurgence of supermarket home brands and a decline in margins for the result, which its chief executive Chris Delaney described as 'unacceptable'.
Goodman Fielder's shares rocketed 30 per cent to 67 Australian cents yesterday, its highest level since last August.
REUTERS
Feb 29, 2012
Wilmar buys 10.1% stake in Goodman Fielder
MELBOURNE: Singapore palm oil firm Wilmar International yesterday said it had acquired a 10.1 per cent stake in Goodman Fielder, Australia's largest listed food company, for US$124 million (S$156 million) and that its brands were a good fit.
The news sent Goodman Fielder shares soaring 30 per cent as investors bet on a potential takeover offer, but Wilmar said in a statement it was still assessing whether to increase its stake.
'We look forward to working with Goodman Fielder and its management team to improve Goodman Fielder's performance over time,' said Wilmar chairman and chief executive Kuok Khoon Hong.
Wilmar is among several Asian companies that have been snapping up Australian food businesses.
It bought Australia's largest sugar miller, CSR's Sucrogen, for A$1.75 billion (S$2.35 billion) in 2010, and last year took over Proserpine Sugar Cooperative for A$120 million.
It beat off competition for Proserpine from Chinese state-owned food giant Cofco Group, which earlier took over mid-sized sugar miller Tully Sugar.
Most recently, Thailand's Mitr Phol moved to complete the takeover of MSF Sugar.
Goodman Fielder is prized for its top-selling Australian brands, including Meadow Lea and Praise margarines, White Wings cake mixes, and Helga's and Vogel's breads.
Wilmar said the purchase would make it the largest shareholder in Goodman Fielder, adding that its brands were complementary to Wilmar's consumer business, which sells products in China, India, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Goodman Fielder said earlier that Wilmar already held a small stake in the company, and had been looking to buy some assets that it had put on the block.
It said in a statement it had not received any proposals from Wilmar or any other party to acquire the company.
The assets for sale include its New Zealand milling and its Integro Foods businesses, which make edible oils, breakfast cereals, sauces and cake mixes.
The Australasian firm, dual-listed in Australia and New Zealand, held talks with Wilmar over its interest in the Integro business after it was put up for sale last November.
Australian food manufacturers have been facing a tough market in recent years, with the main customers - Australia's top two supermarkets Woolworths and Coles - slashing prices in a bid to win customers, and squeezing the margins of suppliers.
Earlier this month, Goodman Fielder posted a 77 per cent slide in first-half net profit, citing a 'very tough' operating environment, and said it had cut 300 jobs.
It pointed to subdued consumer confidence, heavy discounting, a resurgence of supermarket home brands and a decline in margins for the result, which its chief executive Chris Delaney described as 'unacceptable'.
Goodman Fielder's shares rocketed 30 per cent to 67 Australian cents yesterday, its highest level since last August.
REUTERS