No offer from Mackay Sugar for Proserpine Mill

Proserpine Sugar’s chairman of the board Lou Raiteri says claims made by Mackay Sugar regarding the mill sale process are misleading.

Yesterday afternoon Sucrogen officials came to town to meet with growers at the entertainment centre. There will be another meeting this morning.

“As part of the process to find an equity investor,. our advisers approached a number of parties including Mackay Sugar to gauge their interest in investing in Proserpine Mill.

“Mackay Sugar has never made an offer for Proserpine Mill for the board members to present to our members.

“Mackay Sugar is currently engaged in a high profile and highly competitive bidding war for Tully Sugar with no certainty it will be successful. Mackay sugar’s argument for an all-Australian sugar milling group is highly reliant on them making a successful bid for Tully Sugar.

Mr Raiteri says by comparison, Wilmar International has made a firm cash offer of $115m for Proserpine Mill.

“After a rigorous review process, the board believes the offer from Wilmar would provide members with greater certainty and a range of benefits,” he said.

Sucrogen’s CEO Ian Glasson told growers yesterday this sale was far bigger than just the purchase of the mill.

“We will build a strong industry for future generations. It doesn’t stop with the purchase of the mill,” Mr Glasson said.

Foreign bid for Proserpine Sugar Mill

Proserpine mill’s chief executive officer John Power said if Proserpine was to remain a single entity, and not join forces with Sucrogen, then another bad season would spell the end of the local industry.

“There are too many risks for the mill to remain a single entity in the future. There are 12 new sugar refineries that have been built in Asia in the past few years. The face of Asia is changing and we need to be part of big business to remain viable. No refinery wants to deal with a small mill anymore,” Mr Power said.

Refusing to be drawn on whether furfural or the nature plant project had anything to do with the current debt, Mr Power said all these details would come out in the independent report which would be mailed to growers within the next month.

He said to reduce the risk of the Proserpine mill becoming a victim of an ever-changing global market, the board went looking for a positive way forward to secure the future of the industry and the livelihood of the town.

“Sucrogen will return a lot of the land to cane. We have the capacity to crush well over 2 million tonnes here. Their investment could take this mill to the third biggest in the country,” he said.

“If you want a sustainable future, you need supply,” he said.

Mr Power’s comments about Sucrogen buying land at Plains Creek, returning it to cane and partnering up with cane farmers, was met with sceptism by grower Paul Atkinson.

“I have spoken with a few mates of mine down there and this just isn’t true. It’s not a partnership. It's a dictatorship, they tell you when to plant, when to cut, when to do everything. It’s not true,” Mr Atkinson said.

However Mr Power remains positive about Sucrogen’s investment believing it will be a real coup for the Whitsundays.

“They are a good fit for Proserpine,” he said.