Avian flu at Sovereign a game changer, says CBH
Country Bird Holdings (CBH) looks set to abandon its second bitterly fought attempt to get control of Sovereign Foods, with CBH CEO Marthinus Stander expressing concern on Friday about the possible effect of avian flu on Sovereign’s Uitenhage operations. "We see the avian flu situation as a game changer," said Stander. "We’ve decided to take the R12 and walk away." In August, Sovereign stunned the market when it announced that private equity firm Capital Works was offering a hefty 33% premium on the R9 offer made by CBH in September 2016. After building up a 34% stake, CBH was forced to abandon that offer following a transgression of the takeover regulations. The company was forced to wait 12 months before launching a new bid. Stander was commenting shortly after Sovereign released a Sens statement informing shareholders that it had detected avian flu at a single layer house on a farm that forms part of its Uitenhage operations. "Approximately 5,000 birds have been culled, which rep...
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