Australia's United Malt extends gains after receiving near $1 bln offer

United Malt

29/03/2023 01:40

(Adds share moves)
    ** Shares of United Malt Group  UMG.AX  gain as much as 2.7%
to A$4.62, extending gains for a second session
    ** Australian commercial maltster said on Tuesday it got a
near $1 bln offer from Malteries Soufflet, a branch of French
agribusiness InVivo; shares closed up 30.8%
    ** UMG received A$5 per share non-binding, indicative offer
    ** Analysts at UBS and Morningstar find InVivo's offer for
UMG "attractive"
    ** Morningstar raises its fair value estimate for UMG to
A$4.75 from A$4.00
    ** Offer is "already well-advanced", Morningstar says,
adding it does not expect the French firm to propose a higher
offer
    ** "We expect the current headwinds of negative mix shift
and sharply higher input costs to be short-lived" - Morningstar
    ** Prior to the takeover proposal announcement, UMG had been
trading at a discount to its peer set - UBS
    ** Two of six analysts rate UMG "buy" or higher and four
"hold"; their median PT is A$4.4 – Refinitiv
    ** Stock up 29.7% this year, as of last close
    

 (Reporting by Navya Mittal in Bengaluru)
 ((navya.mittal@thomsonreuters.com))