- Roc Private Equity offered $1.27, up from previous $1.26 by MAFM
- MAFM quickly responded with $1.28
- Asset sale worth $351.8M
This week
Monday saw Vitalharvest (ASX: VTH) pause trading, shortly afterwards announcing a trading halt that would last until today.
Those announcements were followed a day later by the news that Roc Private Equity, which entered the takeover bid for the berry and citrus farm company back in late February, had again increased its offer by one cent; the asset sale alternative up by some $1 million to $349.95 million.
Prior to the seventh Roc offer, Macquarie Agricultural Funds Management (MAFM) looked as if it had the deal done at $1.26.
Shortly after the news of Roc’s seventh offer, MAFM made its eighth proposal of $1.28 per unit or $351.8 million in a Vitalharvest asset sale, should unitholders not vote in favour of the trust scheme takeover which sees MAFM take over 100% of VTH units.
Later on Tuesday, the Primewest (ASX: PWG) managed company announced to the market that it had determined Macquarie’s eighth offer was “in the best interests of VTH unitholders”, accepting the proposal made by MAFM once again.
Events to date
The bidding battle for berry and citrus company Vitalharvest got underway in late February this year.
Whilst the original proposal from MAFM was made in November last year, Roc Private Equity made a tilt for VTH on 26 February this year.
It seemed to be a knockout offer at the time, $1.08 per unit, up from the $1.00 offered by MAFM.
Events played out week by week with a baker’s dozen of offers exchanged, Roc upping the offer multiple times, Macquarie equalling them.
In a flurry of activity last week, MAFM then raised the offer amount instead of equalling, finally securing the deal Monday this week.
The company is currently trading at $1.28, opening one cent higher this morning.
