CASHED-UP BEGA HAS APPETITE FOR MORE
BEGA Cheese shareholders have approved the institutional placement component of last year’s $160 million capital raising, giving the food and dairy firm further scope to expand.
The company yesterday said 84.3 per cent of proxy votes were made in favour of the $122.5 million placement, which was followed by a $37.5 million share purchase plan.
The approval means Bega, which last year acquired brands including Vegemite, can now undertake further share placements to fund any growth opportunities it identifies.
Bega has also taken control of Queensland nut grower Peanut Company of Australia (PCA) after taking its stake past 90 per cent at the end of last year. The company announced the $12 million takeover in November and a month later owned more than 93 per cent of PCA shares.
It will proceed to full ownership through compulsory acquisition. The deal will give Bega a complete supply chain for its peanut butter, with farm and processing infrastructure in Kingaroy and Tolga in Queensland and manufacturing facilities in Port Melbourne.
“The acquisition of PCA will help grow the supply of Australian-grown peanuts for the manufacture of peanut butter at our Port Melbourne factory,” Bega chairman Barry Irvin said last year.
Bega’s shares closed down 18¢, or 2.49 per cent, at $7.04.