Olam trumps Dreyfus bid as traders compete for Namoi cotton

Olam Agri Holdings Ltd. has again outbid Louis Dreyfus Co. for Namoi Cotton Ltd., as the top two agricultural traders compete for the Australian cotton producer.

The Singapore-based company will raise its offer for Namoi to A$0.70 per share, three cents higher than LDC’s most recent offer on Tuesday, it said in a statement on Wednesday. His latest offer values ​​the company at around A$144 million. Traders have progressively increased their bids in recent weeks and shares in Namoi (the largest Australian-owned cotton processor) have risen to the highest level since 1999.

Companies are vying for a bigger presence in Australia’s cotton industry, which is the sixth largest in the world. Olam Agri acquired Queensland Cotton in 2007 and owns several ginning facilities in New South Wales and Queensland. LDC bought Dunavant’s Australian cotton business in 2010 and owns three processing plants in the country.

Olam Agri offered 0.66 Australian cents per Namoi share late last week, contingent on gaining the backing of more than half of the company’s shareholders. At that time, he said he would pay 0.70 Australian dollars if he got at least 90% support. However, that was rejected when Rotterdam-based LDC, which currently owns around 17% of Namoi shares, said a day later that it would not accept Olam Agri’s offer.

Namoi’s largest shareholder, Samuel Terry Asset Management Pty Ltd., said in a letter to directors that it supported Olam’s latest bid.

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