More than five months after Libstar revealed it had received takeover interest, the South African food group said all bets are now off.
Johannesburg-listed Libstar has never disclosed the names of the potential suitors since making the initial announcement in September and they remained anonymous in a filing yesterday (2 March).
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In the stock exchange filing, Libstar said its directors had concluded the approaches do not represent “fair value” for the business, which produces dairy, ready meals, snacks, baby foods and condiments.
“Shareholders are advised that, following a comprehensive assessment by the board of directors of the company of non-binding expressions of interest received from interested parties…the board has resolved not to progress engagements with any potential investors regarding a potential transaction,” the filing read.
It added: “Following a robust process of engagement with potential investors, the board is of the view that non-binding expressions of interest received are not reflective of the fair value of Libstar.”
Libstar explained its assessment was based on the company’s medium- to longer-term outlook, as well as its recent financial performance.
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By GlobalDataHowever, in a trading update for the current fiscal year issued on 26 February, Libstar flagged another impairment charge, albeit lower than the one incurred in the previous 12 months.
Ahead of the final results due on 17 March, Libstar also pointed to an improvement in base profits for the year to 31 December amid a restructuring exercise launched last year.
In today’s filing, Libstar said it “remains focused on the execution of its strategy, including portfolio and operating model simplification, the growth of its categories and channels, and sustainable value creation for all stakeholders”.
Before 2025 concluded, Libstar announced it was selling its fresh mushroom operations, including facilities in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. However, it retained the Denny mushroom brand.
Libstar said in its February trading update that it had built on the “strong momentum” in the first half, led by perishable food products and wet condiments.
At the time, the company pointed to a full year R227.4m ($13.9m) impairment linked to its Ambassador Foods snacks division. It booked an impairment of R508.7m in the previous 12 months connected with the Finlar Fine Foods business, Denny Mushrooms, Dickon Hall Foods and Cape Herb and Spice.
Total EPS for the current year is expected in a range of a loss of 1.2 South African cents to a profit of one cent versus the 54-cent-loss a year earlier.
Libstar projected headline earnings per share (HEPS) of 50.4 to 52.5 cents, compared to the 42.1 cents delivered the previous year.
Normalised HEPS from continuing operations is likely to come in at 70.0 to 71.8 cents, up from the prior print of 58 cents.
