Brand chase takes a twist but Philippine company may still want Australian prize
Philippine food and drink conglomerate San Miguel Corp yesterday said it was 'studying a bid' for New Zealand Dairy Foods, but it remains unclear whether this means it will abandon its bid for bigger Australian target National Foods.
San Miguel has been locked in a six-month battle for National Foods with Fonterra, and most analysts believe that the New Zealand company's A$1.84 billion ($11.35 billion) offer is likely to succeed.
Yesterday, San Miguel revealed it was in 'preliminary studies' on buying Dairy Foods, which could be worth as much as A$650 million.
New Zealand media reports claim that millionaire entrepreneur Graeme Hart, who controls Dairy Foods, is sounding out potential buyers for the business, which he bought from Fonterra in June 2002 for about A$300 million.
Dairy Foods is a diversified food producer with brands such as Anchor - which produces products from packet jelly to canned fruit, and other labels such as Fresh n Fruity and Fernleaf.