Singapore's Olam Agri sweetens bid for Australia's Namoi Cotton to counter rival LDC (updated)

Namoi Cotton

13/09/2024 24:46

(Adds details, background from paragraph 2 onwards)
       Sept 13 (Reuters) - Singapore's agribusiness Olam Agri
 IPO-OLAA.SI  increased its takeover bid for Australia's Namoi
Cotton  NAM.AX  to A$155.2 million ($104.36 million) on Friday,
days after the cotton ginning firm backed a lower offer from a
rival bidder.
    The new offer is higher than rival bidder Louis Dreyfus
Company's (LDC) A$138 million bid. Olam Agri had previously
offered nearly A$145 million for Namoi Cotton.
    The affiliate of Olam Group  OLAG.SI  has been engaged in a
bidding war with the Dutch commodities trader to take full
control over Namoi.
    On Wednesday, Namoi Cotton had asked its shareholders to
accept LDC's lower offer, as the Dutch firm's bid had received
nods from both Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board and
the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
    Olam Agri is yet to receive the competition regulator's
approval for its bid.
    "While the ACCC approval process has taken longer than
anticipated, we remain confident... to win approval," said
Ashish Govil, managing director, Queensland Cotton for Olam Agri
Australia.
    The Singapore firm has proposed remedies including a gin
divestment and a ProClass share divestment to the ACCC, Govil
added.
    LDC, Namoi's second-largest shareholder, has increased its
voting power in the Queensland-based company to 21.30% from
20.10%, an exchange filing showed on Friday.
    
($1 = 1.4872 Australian dollars)

 (Reporting by Aaditya Govind Rao in Bengaluru; Editing by
Mohammed Safi Shamsi and Rashmi Aich)
 ((Aaditya.GovindRao@thomsonreuters.com;))