Chinese fresh vegetable food processor China Minzhong Food Corp (CMFC) has received a takeover bid from its largest shareholder Indofood CBP Sukses Makmur.
The Indonesian noodle maker has increased its stake in Minzhong to 33.49% from its previous holding of 29.33% at a price of S$1.12 per share, the Chinese firm said this morning (2 September). The move triggered a mandatory offer for the remaining shares in the firm at the same price, and will cost Indofood S$488m (US$383m) in cash.
In March, Indofood doubled its stake in Minzhong in March when it purchased shares from Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC.
The move comes after the vegetable processor’s stock slumped following allegations last week by California-based Glaucus Research about accounting issues at Minzhong. The company, however, has rejected any irregularities and said it “strongly refute[s]” what it views as “reckless opinions and inferences drawn by Glaucus without due regard as to the accuracy of such statements”.
“The manner in which they made these statements and the conclusions which they drew from them were mischievous and calculated to cause panic and impose maximum damage on the price of the company’s securities for their own benefit,” Minzhong said in a statement.
Minzhong last traded at S$0.53 after plunging the most since its April 2010 share sale following the Glaucus report. However, shares more than doubled when the firm resumed trading in Singapore later today, to match Indofood’s offer price of S$1.12.
The bid is priced at 6.9% more than Minzhong’s weighted average price for the previous three months, according to the Chinese firm.
If a deal is done, it would be the second sizeable acquisition for Indofood in the last year. It bought out the shares of Pepsi-Cola IndoBeverages for $30m in June. The group also controls palm oil producers PT Salim Ivomas Pratama and PT Perusahaan Perkebunan London Sumatra Indonesia as well as Indonesia’s largest flour miller Bogasari.
