Burns Philp - the plot thickens

The Burns Philp hostile bid for Australia's biggest food company appears to be far from over with the ingredients and yeast company yesterday referring its bid to the Australian Takeovers Panel - the principal forum for resolving disputes relating to takeovers.

The move sheds little light on the uncertainty surrounding the bid with Burns Philp claiming in a statement on Monday that it "did not have sufficient information to determine whether the matters announced by Goodman Fielder on 8 and 9 January 2003 triggered any of the conditions of the offer and, were they to have beentriggered, whether it would rely upon those breaches".​

Last week Goodman Fielder rejected the Burns Philp bid​ - that offered a A$1.85 share price - advising its shareholders to spurn the offer because "the offer does not adequately reflect the company's underlying value and ongoing potential".​