ADM Boosts Offer for Australian Grain Firm

U.S. agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM) this morning announced that it has increased its offer for Australian grain grower and marketer GrainCorp from AUS$11.75 (about US$12.25 at today’s exchange rate) to AUS$12.20 (about US$12.72). Current GrainCorp shareholders would be allowed also to keep the company’s dividend payment of AUS$0.35 that was announced on November 15.

The revised offer is contingent on GrainCorp allowing ADM access to “confirmatory due diligence, completion of that due diligence satisfactory to the ADM Board, and a recommendation from the GrainCorp Board.”

ADM’s CEO said:

We consider that our revised non-binding proposal reflects the value of GrainCorp’s business, taking into account GrainCorp’s 2012 results, its new initiatives announced on Nov. 15, and its recently announced ordinary and special dividends totaling A$0.35. Our proposal also offers more certainty, greater value and immediate realization of potential future value for GrainCorp shareholders than GrainCorp’s stand-alone plan.

ADM increased its stake in GrainCorp to 19.9% on Monday, up from 14.9% on October 18, when ADM first made its offer to acquire the Australian firm.

Shares of ADM are down 0.1% in premarket trading this morning, at $26.67 in a 52-week range of $24.38 to $33.98.

Paul Ausick