San Miguel bids on National Foods

San Miguel bids on National Foods

SYDNEY: San Miguel Corp. launched a takeover bid on Thursday for Australia's largest dairy company, National Foods, topping a previous offer from New Zealand's Fonterra as the Philippines brewing giant moved to expand its non-alcoholic food holdings.

San Miguel's A$1.78 billion (US$1.38 billion) bid pushed shares in National Foods up more than 5 percent as investors anticipated a bidding war between the Manila-based brewer and its New Zealand rival.

The National Foods board unanimously recommended shareholders accept the A$6.0 a share offer, which it said was a closer reflection of the company's true value than Fonterra's A$5.45.

"The proposal is superior to Fonterra's, which your board continues to consider grossly undervalues National Foods," National Foods chairman David Crawford said in a statement to shareholders that noted San Miguel's bid was a 28.5 percent premium to the company's share price before Fonterra's offer. -- AFP