PGW - PGG Wrightson

[tim23]

And the buyer? Elders perhaps?

[nztx]

And the buyer? Elders perhaps?

depends on whether one buyer or chopped up over more, as to whether there will be any filing by new or existing holder(s) buying

[tim23]

depends on whether one buyer or chopped up over more, as to whether there will be any filing by new or existing holder(s) buying

Good point, the premium is good news, Cushings must have been approached to sell their shares?

[nztx]

will say this - whatever the proceeds of H&G & RPL parcels were/are being applied towards, it must have been either awfully good
or urgent to forgo potential growth & the dividend stream from PGW & Rural Sector exposure in these times..

[percy]

Independent Chairman of PGW ...........Rodger Finlay...................also Director Rural Equities.
Executive Chairman of Rural Equities....David Cushing..................also director of PGW.


Saturday night speculation.Scales buys PGW and get their hands on Fruit fed,then sell the rump of PGW to Elders ,or another Australian stock agency.

[tim23]

That has merit, Fruitfed is a great performer in PGG but a bit unsung, remember they were listed in own right before W & K took them over.

Independent Chairman of PGW ...........Rodger Finlay...................also Director Rural Equities.
Executive Chairman of Rural Equities....David Cushing..................also director of PGW.


Saturday night speculation.Scales buys PGW and get their hands on Fruit fed,then sell the rump of PGW to Elders ,or another Australian stock agency.

[nztx]

Independent Chairman of PGW ...........Rodger Finlay...................also Director Rural Equities.
Executive Chairman of Rural Equities....David Cushing..................also director of PGW.


Saturday night speculation.Scales buys PGW and get their hands on Fruit fed,then sell the rump of PGW to Elders ,or another Australian stock agency.

Should we instead be looking at PGW based on estimates of it's break-up value rather than future trading prospects .. ?

[percy]

That has merit, Fruitfed is a great performer in PGG but a bit unsung, remember they were listed in own right before W & K took them over.

Yes W&K took over Fruitfed and on sold to PGW.
Cushings controlled W&K, so I would except David Cushing and Rodger Finlay would have a pretty good idea of the real value of Fruitfed, and the rump of PGW.
So with them accepting $2.75 a share I would expect that would be their thoughts on the breakup value of PGW.
However we do not know what a buyer of Fruitfed sees as its value to their company.
My speculation is based on the fact I see the only company in NZ that could take over PGW is SCL.Then we have to ask ourselves why.? The only answer I can come up with is they want Fruitfed.
It is a concern to me that Rodger Finlay [Chairman] and David Cushing [director] have sold.They are the main reason I increased our PGW holdings.Does it mean they will now resign from PGW's board.?
Perhaps we will be able to make a better informed judgement when we find out who brought their shares.

[Snoopy]

Independent Chairman of PGW ...........Rodger Finlay...................also Director Rural Equities.
Executive Chairman of Rural Equities....David Cushing..................also director of PGW.

Saturday night speculation.Scales buys PGW and get their hands on Fruit fed,then sell the rump of PGW to Elders ,or another Australian stock agency.

Intriguing Percy. Fruitfed is possibly the 'crown jewel' in the PGG Wrightson stable right now. It even got a special highlight slide at the AGM IIRC. I can't see any reason why PGG Wrightson would willingly sell it. So maybe a 'hostile' takeover of all of PGW would be a way to unlock Fruitfed?

Elders was sniffing around a year or so ago, before the seed division sale when PGW was 'too expensive'. But didn't they buy another chain in Australia instead? The interest in PGG Wrightson seemed to me a bit half hearted given what they actually bought.

I was scratching my head to try and find out why the Cushings might sell. Did they want to repay 'Rural Equities' debt? No, the sale of dairy farms during FY2019 saw all 'Rural Equities' debt paid back.

I noticed that Rural Equities has also sold their equity stake in Websters in Australia. So the reason given for Rural Equities putting money into both PGW and Websters originally - diversification - must no longer be current.

It would seem an odd time to launch a hostile takeover of PGW, with most supporting banks (the big Aussie ones) seemingly wanting to reduce their rural exposures and fearful for the strength of their loan books. So I have another theory. It is Rural Equities who have their sights on a big purchase of 'something else' and they want to be in a super strong position for their purchase so they can:

1/ Purchase without bank debt OR
2/ Be in a strong position to negotiate new bank terms when their banking facilities expire on 3rd May 2020 (not very far away!)

$2.75 for PGW shares sold is a full price given recent history. But try buying up a 7% stake in PGW by buying on market at under $2.75. You might have trouble doing that. PGW is a good dividend payer, so maybe the buyer was an income chasing superannuation scheme?

Or, how about this for a wildcard? David Cushing has fallen out with Alan Lai (pure speculation). So Lai has found another 'mate' to buy the stake so that he can maintain defacto controller of PGW! That might be worth paying a premium to do!

SNOOPY

[nztx]

Yes W&K took over Fruitfed and on sold to PGW.
Cushings controlled W&K, so I would except David Cushing and Rodger Finlay would have a pretty good idea of the real value of Fruitfed, and the rump of PGW.
So with them accepting $2.75 a share I would expect that would be their thoughts on the breakup value of PGW.
However we do not know what a buyer of Fruitfed sees as its value to their company.
My speculation is based on the fact I see the only company in NZ that could take over PGW is SCL.Then we have to ask ourselves why.? The only answer I can come up with is they want Fruitfed.
It is a concern to me that Rodger Finlay [Chairman] and David Cushing [director] have sold.They are the main reason I increased our PGW holdings.Does it mean they will now resign from PGW's board.?
Perhaps we will be able to make a better informed judgement when we find out who brought their shares.

Possibly - but the larger road block on the way is the Chinese Aria holding - and how easily that could be
dislodged by a new suitor.. or if push becomes shove for Chinese holder's banks wanting their loans repaid.

Nevertheless, if there was prospect of that, then it's difficult to comprehend H&G & REL wanting to exit PGW now
ahead of something more ..