German takeover of T&G

Its share offer closes today (March7) and, as of this morning, acceptances gave it a 72% stake in the firm.

In November 2011, BayWa announced its intention of acquiring 63% of all T&G shares formerly held by the Guinness Peat Group plc (London). At the same time, the Munich-based company made an offer to all the other shareholders to buy their T&G shares for $1.85 per share.

With official approval now granted, the public takeover tender offer submitted to the shareholders of T&G by BayWa AG in November 2011 is effective, BayWa says. Compensation for the sum total of 72.5% of the shares in T&G tendered to date comes to around $157 million.

Rob Campbell, chairman of GPG, commented that "all T&G shareholders have had the ability to participate in a fair offer and that the new majority owner will provide a strong base for the business going forward."

The takeover is a ground-breaking step towards internationalisation for BayWa. BayWa's CEO, Klaus Josef Lutz, will take over the chair of T&G's Board of Directors.

The takeover of the majority holding in T&G will enable BayWa to become a global player in the supply of pome fruit. BayWa is pleased with the outcome of the transaction to date. "The existing shareholders that still remain on board now are expecting T&G – and therefore its share price – to continue to develop well with BayWa's involvement. This shows their confidence in us as the new majority shareholder", says Lutz.

He says BayWa intends to foster a cooperation based on trust with shareholders and that the company intends to build up a close cooperation with New Zealand's fruit producers. "The relationship with the producers is very important to us as they are the backbone of T&G. Trust and the capacity for development are key factors in setting up a global platform for T&G", says Lutz.

He believes that Asia will be T&G's largest growth market for fresh fruit. According to Lutz, the participation in T&G will enable BayWa to deliver throughout the whole year. He says the fruit farmers who work together with BayWa in Germany will therefore also benefit from the T&G takeover, as the opportunity of selling their products in a global market has improved.

T&G last week reported an after-tax loss of $18.9 million for the year, blaming the high New Zealand dollar, the Eurozone meltdown and the spread of the PSA kiwifruit virus for a $20.9 million writedown in the value of its orchards last year.