Publicly-listed investment company Hamilton Securities Limited has moved to enter a competing bid for the acquisition of an agricultural managed investment scheme managed by Elders — the Sandalwood Scheme, located in the Ord River region in Western Australia.
The company has confirmed it has entered into consultation with growers to develop a competing bid to an offer by Santanol and what it describes as Santanol's "unidentified foreign investors".
The growers are scheduled to vote on the Santanol offer in Melbourne next week, and Hamilton Securities has declared it will not proceed with its proposal if the growers give their approval to Santanol in sufficient numbers.
However it said that under the proposal Hamilton Securities is developing, there would be a reorganisation of the Sandalwood Scheme and consolidation of the growers' Sandalwood interests, and the issue to growers of voting shares in Hamilton Securities.
The company said this would allow growers to maintain exposure to Sandalwood and benefit from seeing the plantations through to harvest.
Commenting on his company's move, Hamilton executive director Giles Craig said the company believed the offer from Santanol, which was supported by Elders, substantially undervalued the Sandalwood assets.
