Canada moves on Webster

ANOTHER Australian agriculture company is to be snapped up by Canadian interests as more investors forge into the sector.

Directors of Webster, which owns water entitlements and produces commodities including walnuts, cotton, beef and lamb, have backed a buyout offer from the Public Sector Pension Investment Board.

The suitor says it is among Canada’s biggest pension investment managers — akin to Australian funds who manage superannuation investments.

It has offered $2 for each Webster share it does not already own, giving the company an enterprise value that includes debt of $854 million.

Webster shares surged 52.8 per cent or 67¢ higher to close at $1.94. The stock traded as high as $2.06 in June last year.

In early trade yesterday, Webster shares hit $1.96 — near the all-time high of $2.06 they hit in June last year.

Chief executive Maurice Felizz said the company was encouraged by the Canadian group’s understanding of the business and its ongoing importance to regional and rural communities.

It had a “proven track record in managing and investing in agricultural assets over the long term for sustainable value creation”, Mr Felizz said.

Webster therefore believed “this transaction represents a positive outcome for all stakeholders in our business”, he said.

Mr Felizz and the group’s other “non conflicted” director, David Cushing, have both clearly offer.

The company said in a statement that two other directors, David Fitzsimons and chair Chris Corrigan — the former head of stevedore Patrick and chair of Qube Logistics — had not been involved in the decision to back the deal.

That was because companies associated with Mr Corrigan and Mr Fitzsimons would be offered stakes in a new business, KoobaCo, to be set up by backed the buyout the Canadian group, Webster said.

Under the takeover proposal, Webster assets worth more than $275 million would be transferred to KoobaCo.

The buyout offer comes about a month after shareholders in large agricultural services company Ruralco overwhelmingly voted in favour of a $469 million takeover by Canadian fertiliser group Nutrien.

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