5th Nov 2013 10:23
LONDON (Alliance News) - MP Evans Tuesday said it was supporting a decision by the controlling shareholder in The North Australian Pastoral Company Pty Ltd to end takeover talks for the business after it failed to get an acceptable proposal.
MP Evans said it had been willing to sell its 34.37% stake in the business if an acceptable proposal had been made, and will continue to review any opportunities that do arise.
The North Australian Pastoral Company is one of the biggest cattle companies in Australia, owning some 5.8 million hectares of land in the Northern Territory and Queensland. It is a privately-owned company majority owned by the Foster family.
The Fosters put the business up for sale in May and approached potential acquirers to gauge interest. However, it didn't get any proposal that was acceptable, according to MP Evans, and so has stopped looking for a buyer.
"The board supports this decision given the difficult conditions currently being faced by the Australian beef industry. However, NAPCo is well placed to face these challenges in view of the quality of its assets and its management team and the longer-term outlook for the Australian beef-cattle industry remains positive," MP Evans said in its statement.
MP Evans shares were down 0.3% at 463.25 pence in London Tuesday morning.
By Steve McGrath; [email protected]; @stevemcgrath1
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