In the bid for Goodman Fielder, Wilmar International and First Pacific have raised their 65 cents per share offer to 70-cents a share, provided major shareholders and the Goodman board pledge their support.
Goodman Fielder has today obtained a trading halt from ASX and NZX to give the company time to consider the proposal.
The revised proposal is lower than major shareholders hoped for, but it’s believed to have the backing of Ellerston Capital, which holds 13 per cent, and Perpetual Investments, which holds 12.2 per cent, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
Perpetual and Ellerston have previously said they would not accept an offer below 70 cents per share, but Goodman's major shareholders have reportedly become frustrated with the board's refusal to engage with Wilmar and First Pacific and are believed to be willing to cash in their investment at the revised offer price.
The bid is following an unsucessful offer from Wilmar and First Pacific in April of 0.65 cents per share, which the board described as "undervalued" and "opportunistic".
Goodman Fielder sold its New Zealand meats business to Heller’s Limited in March as part of a strategy to “optimise its portfolio by refocusing its marketing and capital expenditure on its core categories and brands where it has profitable, market leading positions.”
The changes are following the issuing of a profit downgrade after profits plummeted due to a lower selling price for baked goods, poor performance from its groceries division and higher farmgate milk prices
Earnings have come up to $27 million lower than its previous full-year profit guidance of around $180 million.