Japan-owned National Foods mulls bid for Australia's Dairy Farmers
SYDNEY (AFP) — Australia's National Foods, a subsidiary of Japanese brewing giant Kirin, was considering a bid for rival Dairy Farmers, the takeover target said Friday.
Dairy Farmers said National Foods had asked the competition watchdog whether it would object to the takeover, which would give it a dominant share of Australia's milk and dairy market.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) had indicated it would take at least eight weeks to assess the potential deal, Dairy Farmers said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange.
The statement did not say how much National Foods was willing to pay for Dairy Farmers, although media reports put the figure at about 900 million dollars (837 million US).
A successful takeover would continue Kirin's expansion in Australia after it bought National Foods Southeast Asia's top food and beverage group San Miguel in a 2.8-billion-dollar deal.
Dairy Farmers chief executive Rob Gordon said other "in-market" bidders may approach the regulator in coming weeks to seek similar assessments about their prospects of a successful takeover.
"Dairy Farmers board has requested interested bidders seek the necessary regulatory clearances, including ACCC reviews, prior to it formally assessing proposals," Gordon said.
He said the regulatory review was "only a single step along the path towards a final board recommendation and subsequent shareholder ballot".
