Australia-based confectioner Yowie has decided against moving to acquire Keybridge Capital, its largest shareholder.
Yowie’s proposed offer, announced in May, contained a series of conditions, including that Keybridge would not try to change the composition of the confectioner’s board.
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However, an EGM convened by Keybridge was held on 27 June where a condition linked to the make-up of Yowie’s board was sparked. After the meeting, Yowie no longer listed company secretary John Patton and MD Nick Bolton as part of the board.
Bolton, a managing director at Keybridge, was appointed CEO of Yowie last year after the investor acquired 78% of the business.
In a stock-exchange filing today (10 July), Yowie said: “Yowie notes that, following the outcome of the extraordinary general meeting held on 27 June 2025, the ‘no change to Yowie board composition’ condition to the bid had been triggered.
“After considering all aspects of the bid and the bidder’s statement, it is not in Yowie’s interest to proceed with the bid.”
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By GlobalDataThe company added: “Accordingly, Yowie does not intend to proceed with the despatch of the bidder’s statement as to do so would be futile, including because the bid would close with a defeating condition breached.”
Yowie’s statement was authorised by directors Antony Catalano and Sulieman Ravell.
In a separate filing, the company said Patton’s role as company secretary ended on Monday. Yowie added Patton and Bolton had resigned as directors on 18 June.
Keybridge entered administration on 9 February, following Yowie’s demand for repayment of an outstanding loan by 7 February. The period of external administration ended in May.
Yowie, headquartered in Perth in Western Australia, markets its namesake products in Australia and the US to “promote learning, understanding and engagement with the natural world”, featuring Yowie characters such as Rumble and Squish. It outsources production and distribution.
