Rural services companies Elders and AWB have hit a snag in the sale of their 50/50 joint venture Hi-Fert after the preferred bidder, China's Wung Fu, pulled its initial bid and made what Elders has labelled a "low-ball offer".
The Australian Financial Review reports that news of Wung Fu's move follows announcements by Elders and AWB on Friday evening in which they said they had slashed the carrying value of their stakes in the fertiliser distribution business.
Elders wrote down its shareholding in Hi-Fert by $57 million to $10.6 million and AWB cut the value of its stake by $43.1 million to just $11 million, due to a collapse in fertiliser prices.
KPMG Corporate has been running the sale process for Hi-Fert, which has been on the auction block for several months.
Email a friend