Macquarie counters Roc’s bid for citrus and berry farm owner Vitalharvest

Macquarie Agricultural Funds Management has taken the lead again in the race for Vitalharvest. See the latest developments.

The race for the farm assets of berry and citrus producer Vitalharvest slows, but continues to roll on.

Bidding for the assets of citrus and berry producer Vitalharvest is slowing to a trickle, with Macquarie Agricultural Funds Management increasing its latest offer by half a cent a unit to trump Roc Private Equity.

Roc PE offered $1.29 a unit for Vitalharvest on May 26, valuing the target company at $353.65 million.

MAFM last week countered with a bid of $1.295 a unit, or $354.575 million, even though it only had to match Roc PE’s previous offer.

But a half a cent rise in the bid indicates the pockets of the opposing suitors are not so deep.

When Roc PE countered MAFM’s first offer of $1 a unit plus a 2.5 cent distribution from rent income, it charged in with an eight-cent a unit trump bid in late February.

Over the following months, following bids were in margins of four cents, two cents and one cent a unit.

Vitalharvest unitholders have seen bids rise from $300 million to $355 million through the competition.

About 18 bids and counterbids have now been lodged, with potentially more in the offing.

The Vitalharvest Responsible Entity board said Roc had indicated when it lodged its last bid of $1.29 a unit on May 26 it would overbid any further matching bid by MAFM by one cent a unit as long as it had five business days to proceed.

“VTH RE does not consider Roc’s indication that it intends to overbid any further offer by MAFM by the equivalent of $0.01 a unit to be a legally binding offer,” the board said.

“VTH RE does not know whether such an offer will be received or, if it is, whether Roc will seek to withdraw the offer in the five business day period Roc has specified.”

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