Wilmar

Wilmar: Together with First Pacific will continue discussions to acquire Goodman Fielder after it’s A$1.271b joint bid was rejected yesterday. Goodman Fielder’s largest shareholder Perpetual Investment said that while the A$0.65 per share offer does appear opportunistic, it encourages the company to continue dialogue with Wilmar to extract shareholder value. OCBC reckons that Wilmar could use its mature distribution channel in the region, particularly China, to tap the surging demand of quality foods, as a focus group unveiled a generic Chinese preference for imported foods given skepticism over local foods. Another investment house Platypus Asset Management commented while it is not sure of Goodman Fielder’s strategic value, it pointed out that Goodman is a cheap business in the right space.