Proserpine Sugar Mill compares bids

 The battle for Proserpine’s sugar mill is far from over, with major players Wilmar-backed Sucrogen and Cofco-backed Tully Sugar, now engaged in what some growers are calling a “two horse race”.

 The PCSMA’s board of directors called a meeting at the Entertainment Centre last Thursday morning to explain the co-operative’s position thus far. Prior to the meeting the board had engaged the services of former Mackay Sugar and QSL chief executive John Pollock to provide an independent assessment of what were then considered to be very different bids.

 Based on Mr Pollock’s advice the PCSMA board continued to recommend Sucrogen, saying theirs was the “superior” offer, but at 4.30am on Thursday, Cofco/Tully Sugar upped the stakes, putting in a revised bid.

 Proserpine’s acting CEO Ian McBean said the board decided to run Thursday’s meeting in spite of the new twists and turns.

 “We decided to take the opportunity to provide members with information on not only why we couldn’t accept the Tully/Cofco offer the first time around, but also to give them some insight into the detail and complexity of this and the fine line the board has to tread,” Mr McBean said.

 Mr McBean says Tully/Cofco’s revised offer means the board must go through a comparison process yet again.

 “We have an asset sale offer for $120 million from Tully/Cofco and we have an asset sale offer for $115 million from Sucrogen, but at the end of the day it’s not about the top dollar value, it’s about the actual return to the members,” he said.

 Under Proserpine’s current contractual obligations, if the Tully/Cofco offer is deemed superior, Sucrogen has five working days in which to decide whether to match the $120 million bid. As the Guardian went to press on Tuesday afternoon, a decision by the board had not yet been made, but Tony Jeppersen, like many of the members who attended Thursday’s meeting, said he looked forward to a reasonably speedy conclusion.

 “The critical thing that all members and parties bidding now seem to appreciate is that the timeline is the most crucial part of this process,” he said.