Costa Group falls most in 3-weeks as Pain Schwartz lowers buyout bid By Reuters

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<span>© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A woman picks up some mandarin oranges at a fruits shop in Sydney June 7, 2011.REUTERS/Daniel Munoz/File Photo</span><br />
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<p>By Himanshi Akhand and Rishav Chatterjee</p>
<p>(Reuters) -Australia’s Costa Group on Monday said U.S. private equity firm Paine Schwartz Partners had lowered its offer price to buy the company by over A$100 million, sending shares of the country’s largest fresh produce business down 4%. </p>
<p>Costa, which in August reported a fall in its half-year earnings and forecast a grim outlook for its key citrus products, also told shareholders New York-based Paine Schwartz had indicated the revised offer was the “best and final” it could make but could go lower if the grocer declared a dividend.</p>
<p>Under the new proposal, Costa shareholders would receive A$3.20 apiece for the remaining 85.16% stake that the U.S. firm does not already own, lower than the A$3.50 apiece offer received in July. This values Costa at A$1.49 billion ($958.4 million).</p>
<p>Paine had paid A$2.60 a share for an almost 14% stake in Costa last October and had begun discussions for a formal buyout bid in April.</p>
<p>“While now at a much-reduced premium, the offer is still relatively attractive on valuation grounds,” said Angus Hewitt, equity analyst at Morningstar.</p>
<p>The latest offer represents a 12.7% premium to Costa’s A$2.84 closing price Monday. The company’s stock hit a week low during trading, emerging as one of the top losers on the benchmark. </p>
<p>Though Costa said there might be no certainty that a binding offer will be received, Morningstar’s Hewitt said the deal was likely to proceed as it still offers a 22% premium to the company’s close prior to the receipt of the original bid. </p>
<p>($1 = 1.5547 Australian dollars)</p>
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<br /><a href="https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/australias-costa-group-gets-lower-buyout-offer-from-pe-firm-paine-schwartz-3176145">Source link </a></p><p>The post <a href="https://forextraderhub.com/costa-group-falls-most-in-3-weeks-as-pain-schwartz-lowers-buyout-bid-by-reuters.html">Costa Group falls most in 3-weeks as Pain Schwartz lowers buyout bid By Reuters</a> first appeared on <a href="https://forextraderhub.com">Forex Trader Hub</a>.</p>