World Grain - June 2014 - 12

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Wilmar, First Pacific to
acquire Goodman Fielder
HONG KONG, SINGAPORE - First Pacific Company Limited and
Wilmar International Limited announced on May 16 that they are
proceeding with due diligence following a recommendation by the
Board of Directors of Goodman Fielder Limited to accept a joint
takeover of Goodman Fielder by a 50-50 joint venture between First
Pacific and Wilmar.
Goodman Fielder's board had previously rejected an offer of A$1.27
billion ($1.17 billion), A$0.65 per share, First Pacific and Wilmar submitted. In early May, the bid was raised to A$0.70 per share, valuing
Goodman Fielder at A$1.37 billion. It is this revised offer that Goodman Fielder's Board has now unanimously recommended.
"We are very pleased to be able to take a significant step forward
with this proposed transaction," said Manuel V. Pangilinan, Chief
Executive Officer and Managing Director of First Pacific. "In Wilmar, we have a terrific partner in this investment."
First Pacific is the main holding company of the Salim Group.
Its major investments include the Indofood business in Indonesia, a
ranking noodle maker, and its Bogasari milling subsidiary.
Kuok Khoon Hong, Chairman and CEO of Wilmar, said, "We thank
the Goodman Fielder Board for its support and look forward to working
with First Pacific to make this a successful transaction for all."
The suitors have signaled they will not split up the business, but

invest in a strategy to expand it into the Asian region.
Goodman Fielder is the leading listed food company in Australasia
with such iconic brands as Medow Lea, Praise, White Wings, Pampas, Mighty Soft, Helga's, Wonder White, Vogel's (under license)
and Meadow Fresh.
Wilmar is Asia's leading agribusiness group and one of the largest
companies listed in Singapore. Hong Kong-listed First Pacific is a
leading investment management and holding company with most of
its operations in Southeast Asia.
The due diligence by First Pacific and Wilmar is anticipated to
take several weeks.
The joint venture comes two years after Goodman Fielder sold its
Champion flour milling business in New Zealand to Nisshin Flour
Milling Inc. and its parent, Nisshin Seifun Group Inc. for NZ$51
million. At that time, Goodman Fielder CEO Chris Delaney said net
proceeds of the sale to Nisshin would be used primarily to repay debt
and further strengthen Goodman Fielder's balance sheet.
"I am pleased with the significant progress we have made in
strengthening our balance sheet as part of our strategic plan. This
transaction builds on our other recent initiatives to ensure our group
financial position is sufficiently strong and flexible to enable us to
pursue our strategic agenda," he said.

With CFP acquisition, Milner renamed Grain Craft
CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE, U.S. - Grain Craft has been selected as the name for the business created by the combination of Cereal Food Processors, Inc. (CFP), Milner Milling Co. and Pendleton
Flour Mills, and the company has announced its new leaders. The acquisition of CFP by Milner Milling and Pendleton
was completed May 8, said Charles B. Stout, who
was the chief executive officer (CEO) of Milner
and Pendleton and will serve as chairman and
CEO of Grain Craft. Stout has been in the milling
industry for 32 years, and he currently serves as a
board member of the Grain Foods Foundation as
well as the Allied Trades of the Baking Industry.
He is on the Executive Committee of the North
Stout
American Millers' Association.
Peter T. Frederick has been named president of Grain Craft. Earlier,
his roles at Milner and Pendleton included president, and vice-president
of sales. Before joining Milner in 2004, Frederick held a number of sales
positions with Cargill starting in 1986. A board member of the Allied
Trades of the Baking Industry, Frederick recently served as co-chairperson for the Executive Leadership Development Committee of the American Baker's Association. He holds a bachelor of business administration
degree from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, U.S.
Grain Craft will be headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S.
Grain Craft's focus will be on long-term customer relationships, Stout
12

said. "All three companies have similar beliefs and philosophies about
how to service the customer and how to do business. These core values
will only grow stronger as we become one company. We look forward
to building on the tradition and heritage of all three of these great companies while creating a new leader in the flour milling industry."
The transaction triples the combined size of Milner/PFM. The
new company will operate 16 mills in 11 states with a daily milling
capacity of 166,260 cwts of flour and will lag only ADM Milling
Co. (281,100 cwts) and Ardent Mills (expected to have capacity of
513,600 cwts).
Before the acquisition, CFP operated mills
in Los Angeles, California, U.S.; Kansas City,
Wichita and McPherson, Kansas, U.S.; Great
Falls and Billings, Montana, U.S.; Portland,
Oregon, U.S.; and Ogden and Salt Lake City,
Utah. Privately-owned Milner had flour mill locations in Barnesville, Georgia, U.S. (actually
situated between Barnesville and Milner, Georgia); Rome, Georgia, U.S.; and Birmingham,
Frederick
Alabama, U.S.
Milner was a 50% managing owner of Pendleton Flour Mills
LLC, which owns flour mills in Pendleton, Oregon, U.S.; Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.; and Blackfoot, Idaho, U.S. Kerr-Pacific Corp.,
Portland, Oregon, U.S., is the other partner in Pendleton.
June 2014 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com

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World Grain - June 2014

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