OIO green light for Synlait purchase
Synlait’s $112 million bid for South Canterbury dairy processor Dairyworks has been given the green light by the Overseas Investment Office.
Its share offer closes today (March7) and, as of this morning, acceptances gave it a 72% stake in the firm.
In November 2011, BayWa announced its intention of acquiring 63% of all T&G shares formerly held by the Guinness Peat Group plc (London). At the same time, the Munich-based company made an offer to all the other shareholders to buy their T&G shares for $1.85 per share.
With official approval now granted, the public takeover tender offer submitted to the shareholders of T&G by BayWa AG in November 2011 is effective, BayWa says. Compensation for the sum total of 72.5% of the shares in T&G tendered to date comes to around $157 million.
Rob Campbell, chairman of GPG, commented that "all T&G shareholders have had the ability to participate in a fair offer and that the new majority owner will provide a strong base for the business going forward."
The takeover is a ground-breaking step towards internationalisation for BayWa. BayWa's CEO, Klaus Josef Lutz, will take over the chair of T&G's Board of Directors.
The takeover of the majority holding in T&G will enable BayWa to become a global player in the supply of pome fruit. BayWa is pleased with the outcome of the transaction to date. "The existing shareholders that still remain on board now are expecting T&G – and therefore its share price – to continue to develop well with BayWa's involvement. This shows their confidence in us as the new majority shareholder", says Lutz.
He says BayWa intends to foster a cooperation based on trust with shareholders and that the company intends to build up a close cooperation with New Zealand's fruit producers. "The relationship with the producers is very important to us as they are the backbone of T&G. Trust and the capacity for development are key factors in setting up a global platform for T&G", says Lutz.
He believes that Asia will be T&G's largest growth market for fresh fruit. According to Lutz, the participation in T&G will enable BayWa to deliver throughout the whole year. He says the fruit farmers who work together with BayWa in Germany will therefore also benefit from the T&G takeover, as the opportunity of selling their products in a global market has improved.
T&G last week reported an after-tax loss of $18.9 million for the year, blaming the high New Zealand dollar, the Eurozone meltdown and the spread of the PSA kiwifruit virus for a $20.9 million writedown in the value of its orchards last year.
