Aroundtheworld

Mengniu Dairy bids for Murray Goulburn

A subsidiary of domestic giant China Mengniu Dairy Co is reported to be bidding for Murray Goulburn Co-operative Co, the biggest Australian dairy producer, in a deal valued at about A$1 billion ($779 million), according to thecattlesite.com on Friday.

Other suitors include Chinese dairy producer Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co, Canadian cheesemaker Saputo Inc, Australian producer Bega Cheese and Kirin Holdings Co’s Lion Pty, the report said.

Murray Goulburn indicated it would decide late this month on the shortlisted bidders.

Adviser Deutsche Bank AG received several unsolicited indicative bids earlier this year after announcing a strategic review, the report said. The company reported a net loss of A$371 million in the financial year that ended June after it cut the price it pays dairy farmers and milk production fell, according to the report.

Investors drop Chicago Exchange bid: WSJ

Two Chinese investors vying for a piece of the Chicago Stock Exchange withdrew in the past two weeks, after the US Securities and Exchange Commission sought more details from the participants about their bid, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Chongqing Jintian Industrial Co and Chongqing Longshang Decoration Co had agreed to invest about $8 million as part of a consortium that offered up to $25 million, according to the report.

The managers dropped out as they felt abused by political criticism of the deal in Congress and the slow progress of approval at the SEC, the WSJ reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

CHX Holdings Inc, the parent of the Chicago Stock Exchange, could solicit new American investors to replace the lost funding, the Journal said.