RHM stake auction

Press, 26 September 1988, Page 10

RHM stake auction

By

DAVID JONES

NZPA London Australasian food giant, Goodman Wattle Fielder, has resisted a quick sale, settling instead for a prolonged international auction for. its 29.9 per cent stake in Ranks Hovis McDougall. Stockmarket speculation has centred on an imminent sale leading to an early bid for RHM. Speculative buying amid general takeover fever has pushed RHM shares up 32p to 389 p in the past few days. But Goodman’s London director, Mr Cliff Lyon, said that a sale was unlikely before early November and could be much later. Goodman’s merchant bankers, Samuel Montagu and SG Warburg, have issued a

formal sale memorandum inviting expressions of interest and Mr Lyon said copies had gone to “Any significant food company we think could be interested and major investment banks around the world.” Any offers must be submitted within the next five weeks when a decision will be made. The sale follows Goodman’s decision earlier this month to abandon its bid for RHM because it did not want to wait for the outcome of a three-month Monopolies Commission inquiry into the proposed take-over. Mr Bob Rogerson, RHM finance director, said there did not appear to be much concrete evidence of buyers lining up for the stake as a bid platform.