Directors of rural services company PGG-Wrightson - already considering a $227 million 50.01% takeover bid by China-based Agria Corp - have dismissed talk of an unsubstantiated alternative 19.9% offer by Hong Kong-based investment company Zuellig Group.
PGGW shareholder Pyne Gould Corp has already agreed to sell its 18.3% holding in PGGW to Agria, as Agria seeks to build its controlling stake.
Agria's 60c per share offer closes on April 15.
PGGW spokesman Maurice Noone said Zuellig had "indicated an interest" in buying a 19.9% stake "as an alternative" to the Agria bid.
However, in the absence of any price indication, terms or substance of a potential offer, PGGW's independent directors "are not able to recommend that PGGW shareholders take the possibility of an offer from Zuellig into account when considering their response to the Agria offer", Mr Noone said.
"To date, the approach from Zuellig seems to have a primary motivation of frustrating the Agria offer," he said yesterday.
Craigs Investment Partners broker Peter McIntyre said unless Zuellig came up with a price per share offer for shareholders to consider, its correspondence with PGGW was "nothing more than a fly in the ointment" in the long-running takeover offer.
Mr Noone said, "The only offer on the table to shareholders remains the Agria offer."
The Zuellig Group said it was disappointed PGGW's directors had rejected its request to undertake due diligence on the company.
Senior group executive Peter Williams said Zuellig had sought the go-ahead to undertake due diligence, with a view to taking a cornerstone shareholding in the company.
Agria is a Chinese seed business with interests in operational management and proprietary technologies.
It has a market capitalisation of about $160 million, and PGGW has a market capitalisation of about $410 million.
