New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra has said Australian takeover target National Foods has agreed to provide it with certain non-public information.
Fonterra chief executive Andrew Ferrier said Fonterra would like greater clarity “on the assumptions that underpin the National Foods Board’s valuation” before making any final decisions about its offer.
Fonterra’s A$1.6bn (US$1.23bn) bid of $5.45 per share has been exceeded by a $6.00 per share bid from San Miguel, the Philippines-based food and beverage company. Fonterra had said it needed more information before deciding whether or not to launch a higher offer.
“As part of this process, we need a more detailed understanding of various aspects of National Foods’ business,” said Ferrier.
“As we have said before, it makes good strategic sense for us to grow our Australian consumer foods business by entering the national chilled milk market and the yoghurts segment through National Foods, complementing our leading positions in cheese and spreads,” he added.
National Foods said it does not consider the information provided to be of a competitively sensitive nature and it will continue to inform the market of developments in relation to the current offers from both San Miguel and Fonterra.
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