Food ingredients manufacturer Burns Philp’s billionaire boss Graeme Hart first made his intentions known when he snapped up 15% of rival Goodman Fielder on the open market, making his company the biggest shareholder overnight. But an offer of A$1.85 ($1.43) cash per remaining share was spurned by the Goodman board.
Only after Burns Philp increased its stake to 20%, upped the bid price by A$0.02 and announced that its financiers had scrapped the 90% minimum acceptance requirement – leaving it in need of just 50%, did the deal go through.
It was a landmark deal in many ways, being the biggest leveraged acquisition ever in Australia and the first leveraged hostile acquisition. The deal was remarkable for the stealth and tactical manoeuvring shown by Burns Philp, transforming an unlikely deal into a done deal, despite the desperate defenses of the Goodman board.
