Australia’s Bega Cheese wants a higher valuation for its stake in Vitasoy Australia.
Earlier on, Vitasoy has offered only A$27.5 million (US$17.5 million) for the 49% share owned by Bega Cheese in the joint-venture.
Bega, the dairy-to-Vegemite manufacturer, became a partner in the venture alongside Vitasoy as part of the acquisition of Lion Dairy & Drinks in 2021. However, Bega is obliged to sell its stake in the venture under the terms of the original agreement, in which Vitasoy has the right to buy out Bega’s share. Bega is unwilling to sell its stake for the amount offered.
Bega Cheese believes that the offer is substantially less than the fair value of Vitasoy Australia and it intends to dispute the offer by Vitasoy International.
Under the terms of the agreement, the purchase price for Bega’s stake would either be a fair value agreed by the parties or determined by an independent expert.
Vitasoy operates its local processing plant at Wodonga near New South Wales with a production capacity of 70 million litres annually, making about 30 products primarily from soybeans, but also includes rice, almonds, coconut, and oats. The company has a strong local supply chain sourcing grain from farmers in NSW, Victoria and southern Queensland, and rarely needs to turn to imports.
