Freedom sells down its A2 Milk stake
Cornerstone shareholder cuts holding by $31m.
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Hawke’s Bay
ASX-listed Freedom Foods has sold $31 million of A2 Milk [NZX: ATM] shares, reducing its stake from 17.8% to 10.4%.
The sale took place on market at a price of 73c a share.
Freedom was involved in a potential takeover bid for A2 in June, alongside US liquid milk company Dean Foods, but A2’s board rejected the approach as “not compelling” and it was formally ended on September 1.
Freedom’s controlling shareholder, the Perich-family, owns a further 1.3% of A2 through holding company Arrovest. It is not clear whether it has also sold shares.
The move by Freedom was announced amid a $A65m capital raising by Freedom aimed at financing its acquisition of snack maker Popina and construction of a UHT milk processing plant at Ingleburn, southwest of Sydney.
Freedom said its “current intention is to maintain a strategic stake” in A2 while continuing to provide it with production facilities and milk supply.
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Tim Hunter
Wed, 21 Oct 2015
Wed, 21 Oct 2015
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Freedom sells down its A2 Milk stake
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