Dive Summary:
- ADM, the American food processing giant, upped its bid yesterday for GrainCorp, the largest grain conglomerate in Australia, to $2.9 billion.
- The initial offer of $2.7 billion was rejected by GrainCorp executives who said the companies strong earnings from this year demanded a higher price.
- GrainCorp is Australia's last major grain producer up for sale to foreign investors. Almost all other companies have already been bought out by Chinese, American and other investors.
From the article:
GrainCorp said it will review the revised non-binding proposal and advise the market in due course. It added that it remains confident in its outlook and strategy to continue to deliver shareholder value.
However, Patricia Woertz, chairman and CEO of ADM, argued: "Our proposal also offers more certainty, greater value and immediate realization of potential future value for GrainCorp shareholders than GrainCorp's stand-alone plan."
