attempt to level the playing field with rival bidder Wesfarmers. It the playing field further.
doesn't.
It already has a voting interest in Coles of almost 13 per cent, it is a listed entity and it is Australian.
Of the three, the last two are potentially the most significant, attempt to add to the stake failed.
The capacity to offer a scrip component to a bid could, given the very large retail shareholder base of Coles, provide Wesfarmers with an edge over the KKR consortium.
attract support from retail investors if the contest is close, although, ultimately, it will be the Coles board that determines voluntarily ask shareholders to express a preference.
offers. For Alinta, the issue was one of tax deferral and opportunity cost of non-deferral rather than fundamental value.
Nevertheless, retail shareholders like rollover relief and, if the bids were close, Wesfarmers' ability to offer it might prove decisive.
introduce a locally listed partner to its consortium. The obvious candidate, given that it has already expressed keen interest in participating in the auction, is Woolworths.
It would like to acquire Target and Officeworks.
Woolworths into its fold.
involvement closely, it could be a blow to KKR's prospects.
If the Officeworks more highly than anyone else, given the constraints on attributes to the KKR group.
about half the offer consideration would be scrip, which could transform a modest advantage into a decisive one.
By freezing Wesfarmers out of the process for another two weeks, and see which of the bidders, if either, will offer it the most attractive entry to the auction.
The freeze is only temporary. Coles knows it needs Wesfarmers in exclusivity expires.
It would also know that Wesfarmers, with $2 billion invested in Coles, won't walk away from the auction even if it loses the contest, it is in Wesfarmers' interests to maximise its exit price by forcing the KKR consortium to its limit.
The other factor in that the process is finally under way. The decision to auction the of access to the data room with the aspiring bidders.
Judging by Woolworths' recent performance, and anecdotal evidence that the auction process has destabilised the company, the numbers aren't likely to be impressive.
present performance and focus on the auction's outcome. Now that the data room is open for business, the auction is likely to be over in about six weeks, close enough for the market to be more interested in the bidding than Coles' performance.
The approach was made at $17.
25 a share and, given that Wesfarmers hadn't had access to Coles' data room, was a signal it was prepared to pay more than that to succeed.
Coles price up to just under $18. If the sales numbers are dreadful, that would simply be a spur to Coles and the bidders to get the process over quickly before more damage is done.
He's a bona fide Hollywood star, and Steven Spielberg and Brad Pitt are among his fans, but what Eric Bana treasures most is his life as a suburban dad.
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