Australia’s largest food company Goodman Fielder has rejected a A$2.2bn (US$1.3bn) hostile takeover bid from spice maker Burns Philp and said it was in talks with other potential buyers.
Goodman Fielder, which makes Uncle Tobys cereals and Helga’s breads, recommended that its shareholders reject Burns Philp’s $1.85 per share offer because it was not good enough.
“We are looking at alternate proposals, and will look at creating whatever alternative proposals (that) we can put to our shareholders that would be value enhancing for them,” chief executive Tom Park told Reuters.
Asked if Goodman would consider a sale strategy that would involve breaking up the company, Park said: “We are actively engaged in that right now.”
He also told Reuters that he would look at any bids that were higher than $1.85 a share.
Burns Philp launched a conditional bid for Goodman, which is four times its size by market value, back in mid-December.
