Saputo Inc. (SAP), Canada’s biggest milk processor, won control of Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory Co. (WCB) as it secured more than half of the shares in Australia’s oldest dairy producer following a three-way tussle.
Montreal-based Saputo holds 52.7 percent of Warrnambool, the maker of Sungold milk, it said today in a statement. The deadline for the offer that values Warrnambool at a maximum of A$537 million ($475 million) will be extended by two weeks. It had been scheduled to close by 7 p.m local time today.
Warrnambool, which also makes Great Ocean Road cheese, has more than doubled in market value since an initial bid by Bega Cheese Ltd. (BGA) in September began a contest for the company with Saputo and Melbourne-based Murray Goulburn Cooperative Co.
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