Goodman Fielder completes A$190 mln discounted placement

Friday 30th September 2011

Trans Tasman food giant Goodman Fielder has completed its A$190 million (NZ$241 million) institutional fund raising, with its shares dropping 14.5% to 65 cents on the lifting of an NZX trading halt this morning.

About 93% of the offer of about 30 million new shares at the discounted rate of 45 Australian cents per share was taken up by institutional shareholders – U.S. and other offshore institutions were not permitted to participate – and the remaining shares were sold at 50 Australian cents each through a bookbuilding process.

Those shareholders who weren't permitted to participate will receive the additional five cents per share, less any applicable withholding tax.

Goodman Fielder is raising a further A$69 million through a fully underwritten five-for-12 retail share offer also priced at 45 Australian cents per share.

Goodman shares closed yesterday at 59 Australian cents on the ASX and 76 cents on the NZX. The NZX price has fallen from $2 last November.

“The success of the institutional component of the equity raising demonstrates strong support for the company as it pursues potential restructuring and operational initiatives which may result from the strategic review,” said chief executive Chris Delaney.

In August, Goodman Fielder reported a 17.3% drop in underlying net profit and wrote A$300 million off the value of its baking assets.

That turned its bottom line to a A$166.7 million net loss.Delaney joined the company on July 4, replacing former chief executive Peter Margin who left at the end of April.

He moved quickly to cut overhead costs in the face of rising commodity prices.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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