Price rises in bid for Capilano
THE private equity consortium behind the takeover bid for Capilano Honey has sweetened its offer.
A consortium led by Australian-Chinese private equity fund Wattle Hill and investment manager ROC Partners is now offering $21 a share for the nation’s biggest honey producer. The new bid is up from an original offer of $20.06.
The new bid still leaves open the possibility of dairy group Bega Cheese making its own move on Capilano, having built up a near 16 per cent stake in the company.
Capilano chairman Trevor Morgan said the new offer represented “an even better deal” for shareholders.
“The Capilano directors unanimously recommend that Capilano shareholders vote in favour of the scheme, in the absence of a superior proposal, and subject to the independent expert continuing to conclude that the scheme is fair and reasonable, and in the best interests of, the Capilano shareholders,” Mr Morgan said in a statement.
Billionaire Kerry Stokes, one of the honey maker’s biggest shareholders, signalled his acceptance of Wattle Hill’s original offer and willingness to transfer his ownership into a new unlisted vehicle.
As part of the offer, Capilano shareholders can take cash or receive new shares in an unlisted vehicle that will house the honey maker.
Signs are emerging a bidding war could be brewing with Bega, which launched a raid on Capilano soon after the Wattle bid emerged.
Bega took its stake to 8.4 per cent in September and the food company, which owns Vegemite and makes its own peanut butter brand, has since lifted that to 15.6 per cent. TWENTY-EIGHT of the 74 million passengers to fly AirAsia in the next 12 months will owe their passage to being in the Leaders for Geelong program.
AirAsia X chief executive Benyamin Ismail packed a surprise at the end of a speech to the program’s graduating class on Thursday night when he offered the 28 participants free return tickets to Kuala Lumpur.
After giving an overview of the airline and some of the keys to its success, Mr Ismail gifted the tickets with the reminder they came with AirAsia’s no-frills approach to keeping costs adown and value up.
“You have to pay for your own bags and your own food, but the ticket is free and it’s valid for a year,” Mr Ismail said.
The graduation ceremony of the Committee for Geelong leaders program was held at GMHBA Stadium alongside the committee’s annual dinner, which attracted more than 300 people.
Mr Ismail, who also flagged the company’s support for Life Saving Victoria’s Nippers program, said he was proud to support the Leaders for Geelong graduates.
“ASEAN is home to some of the world’s fastest-growing economies and is a great place to pursue international study, market research or professional development,” Mr Ismail said.
“We hope that by providing this year’s graduates with the opportunity to visit Kuala Lumpur it will help to further develop their capability as future leaders of the Geelong region.”
Mr Ismail said when AirAsia started flying out of Avalon on December 5 it would open a gateway to the airline’s 135 destinations.
“That is something you have to look forward to,” he said. “When you go to Kuala Lumpur from Avalon, we will connect you to pretty much everywhere.”
He said Avalon would add to the low-cost carrier’s 97 unique routes and said the airline pushed hard to be unique.