Noble

Noble: COFCO and Noble have entered into definitive agreements to form an agribusiness joint venture “Noble Agri Limited” Under the agreement, COFCO will acquire a 51% equity stake in Noble Agri from parent Noble Group in an all cash transaction, at 1.15x 2014 audited book value (where initial payment is US$1.5b and differences to be settled upon completion of deal). Following the deal, Noble Agri will become the principal international origination platform for COFCO. Noble Group is expected to book a US$64.8m gain from this transaction. On a proforma basis, NTA is expected to rise from US$0.66 to US$0.75, while EPS from US3.4¢ to US8.68¢ A HOPU led consortium of minority investors will also join COFCO in the acquisition.