Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) Chief Executive Terry Davis is not likely to change his mind about the current $7.6b takeover bid tabled by Lion Nathan, believing it to be “half-baked”. He has left the door open to a deal, however, with the right conditions. CCA told shareholders on Monday that Lion Nathan had launched an unsolicited takeover bid for Australia’s largest bottler of soft drinks, in an endeavour to create Australia’s largest beverage company. Coca-Cola Amatil informed... ...Read more »

The Board of Coca-Cola Amatil has decided to fend off the takeover offer made by Lion Nathan, believing it not to be in the best interests of their shareholders. Yesterday they noted “material deficiencies” in the offer made by Lion Nathan, which valued Australia’s largest soft drink bottler at around 10.8 x FY2008 earnings (or about $7.6b). The Board’s main concern is that the price to earnings multiple value of 10.8 is below the other major beverage deals made in Oceania... ...Read more »

Lion Nathan Limited has confirmed that it is in discussions with Coca-Cola Amatil Limited (CCA) regarding a potential combination of the two companies, which would result in Lion Nathan acquiring all of the issued shares in CCA. The announcement was made just before midday, after they had earlier asked for a trading halt to be placed on their shares until an announcement was made. The proposed combination would create the leading Australian and New Zealand beverage company, with a diversified portfolio... ...Read more »

Rumours continue to circulate that Pepsi are sounding out new bottlers for their brands in New Zealand and Australia. The Australian Financial Review last week reported that PepsiCo was discussing their options with potential bottlers in the wake of news that both their New Zealand and Australian partners were reviewing their operations. Frucor, a subsidiary of Danone, is Pepsi’s current New Zealand bottler and Danone recently indicated that a review of operations is underway, with... ...Read more »

Kirin Holdings, Japan’s largest brewer and owner of Australian-based National Foods, has won the battle to acquire dairy co-operative Australian Co-Operative Foods (ACF) Limited (Dairy Farmers). In conjunction with Warrnambool Cheese and Butter, National Foods outbid other interested parties, which reportedly included Saputo and Murray Goulburn. Dairy Farmers announced today that National Foods will acquire all of the shares in the Co-operative for a cash consideration of $5.65 per share,... ...Read more »

Parmalat has failed to reach an appropriate agreement with their proposed joint venture partner, Murray-Goulburn, as they seek to acquire Dairy Farmers. The two companies withdrew their application for ACCC clearance on Friday, with the Italian dairy giant citing an inability to come to a suitable arrangement as the reason for the decision. “Parmalat SpA communicates that no mutually satisfactory resolution on terms and conditions has been reached and consequently Parmalat has withdrawn from... ...Read more »

Cadbury has informed the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) that they are proposing to sell their beverage business in Australia. Rumours had been circulating for months that a sale was on the cards following the demerger of Cadbury-Schweppes in the US which left Australia as the only country where Cadbury’s confectionery and beverage units were combined. Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) CEO Terry Davis has also fuelled rumours of a Schweppes sale by indicating CCA would be interested... ...Read more »

Speculation continues to mount that Japanese-based Kirin Holdings will make a play for the drinks unit of Cadbury Schweppes in Australia. The Japanese beverage giant already has significant operations in Australia following last year’s $2b purchase of dairy company National Foods. They also have a 46% stake in Lion Nathan Australia and a purchase of Schweppes would mean they would be a major player in the dairy, beer and soft drink sectors. Cadbury announced a review of their beverage operations... ...Read more »

National Foods has offered the ACCC a proposed undertaking to address any competition concerns that the ACCC may have with their proposed takeover of Dairy Farmers. National Foods, a subsidiary of the Japanese-owned Kirin Holdings, announced in April that they would combine with Warrnambool Cheese and Butter (WCB) to make a joint bid for the Australian dairy co-operative. The ACCC commenced a public, informal review into their proposal on April 17 to determine the competition implications of a takeover. National... ...Read more »

Leading dairy companies Fonterra and National Foods are reportedly discussing the option of a joint bid for Australian dairy co-operative Dairy Farmers. Both companies have already sought ACCC approval for separate bids but a deal between the two is now in the offing. The idea would likely suit Fonterra as their desire to engage in a bidding war would have been reduced by their recent purchase of Nestlé’s Australian dessert and yoghurt operations. It is rumoured that the NZ dairy giant... ...Read more »