WHS - Warehouse Group

[Contrarian]

GIDDAY
FOODSTUFFS GOING FOR 10 %
TRADING HALT

[zac]

Thousands will be killed in the rush. Foodstuffs look to be protecting their patch. Warehouse extra about to open - with food. Or perhaps a blocking stake to deter overseas (OZ) -predators.

[Toddy]

Something exciting for the WHS shareholders.

[minimoke]

quote:Originally posted by Toddy

Something exciting for the WHS shareholders.

Not to the Insiders who started making their move around 31/5!

[BRICKS]

BRICKS is in TORONTO,, CANADA and cannot see any comments about WHS as there are not much left on the NZX it had to come,, while the mob talk about TAX and the price of FISH someone steels the last of the BIG ones... [8D]

[craic]

What a lot of rubbish. WHS say no sale - buyer says 10% only no further interest. Why in the name of reason are mugs paying 506 or more for this one? I sold out at 503 with a big smile and two or more Gs profit and I am still looking for any sign that I was wrong. When the dust settles and they have their 10%, this has to drop back close to 400 cps.

[Halebop]

I'd put WHS' normalised earnings at around 29 cents per share (they won't hit anything like it this year because of the Aussie losses). If you were buying the company $5.00 would be the sort of price you'd have to pay. But this tender offer seems like an expensive method of buying a 10% stake. Perhaps Foodstuffs have been spooked by someone? I wonder if they had just under 5% already? The price held up quite well the last few weeks. I'd put it down to Telecom money finding a new home but perhaps this what not the reason?

[Snow Leopard]

Prior to opening today they held approx 5.1m WHS shares and so far today have acquired about 13m (which may or may not include those initial 5.1m)
15.3m would trigger a shareholder notice.

[Westie]

quote:What a lot of rubbish. WHS say no sale - buyer says 10% only no further interest. Why in the name of reason are mugs paying 506 or more for this one? I sold out at 503 with a big smile and two or more Gs profit and I am still looking for any sign that I was wrong. When the dust settles and they have their 10%, this has to drop back close to 400 cps.

It ain't over til it's over. I read an interview the other day (herald?) with foodstuffs, talking about their strategic moves to stay ahead of the competition (the aussies). They reckon they saw Woolworths coming over here & now they think walmart will be in australasia in a couple of years, maybe through a takeover of woolworths. I'm not sure if it was the same article but i also read about the idea of whs being sold given that they've moved away from Tindall's original conception and reflect Maurice's plans e.g. selling alcohol etc. So Tindall's interest may be waning.
So, given this is clearly a blocking stake, what do Foodstuffs know about who is coming to NZ? Is someone out there negotiating taking all of WHS? will they step in to this stand & start a bidding war? was there a gunman on the grassy knole? & within that speculation lies the answer to the $5.05 bids (not my bids i might add!)

From Bloomberg

quote:Foodstuffs expects Tesco, Britain's biggest retail, or Wal- Mart, the world's largest, to expand to New Zealand within three years, Tony McNeil, managing director of the grocer's Wellington cooperative, told the New Zealand Herald this week.

[Westie]

quote:I'd put WHS' normalised earnings at around 29 cents per share (they won't hit anything like it this year because of the Aussie losses). If you were buying the company $5.00 would be the sort of price you'd have to pay.

bloomberg quotes walker capital saying that the offer is above their valuation of whs. But then, if that valuation is based on discounted cashflows etc throw it away. An LBO valuation would be more relevant to what an industry player would pay & that is almost always much higher than discounted cashflow. Without seeing the balance sheet, a 30% premium to market price before the offer is about ballpark.