French grains trader Malteries Soufflet has struck a deal to acquire Australian distributor United Malt Group Ltd. for about A$1.5 billion ($999.3 million) in cash.
The A$5 per share deal marks a 45.3% premium to the company’s share price on March 24, the company said in a statement Monday. That’s in line with terms the suitor had proposed in March that won it exclusive due diligence.
It follows previous proposals by Malteries Soufflet — and major holder InVivo Group — since mid-December, rising from A$4.15 per share to the current offer, but was complicated by a A$13.8 million first-half loss the company reported in May.
The takeover comes just over three years after the Australian business was spun out from GrainCorp Ltd. Since then, the shares had lost more than 20% before the takeover offer was made public. For Malteries Soufflet, the transaction is the latest step in a push for global scale.
“The United Malt Board believes that the Scheme Consideration appropriately reflects the value of our asset portfolio and the anticipated improvement in our near term earnings outlook, ” United Malt Chairman Graham Bradley said.
