Bidding war adds to Saputo’s risk

Article Excerpt

SAPUTO INC. $49 (Toronto symbol SAP; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 194.2 million; Market cap: $9.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 1.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.saputo.com) has spent $2.4 billion on acquisitions in the past five years, mainly dairy producers in the U.S. It now wants to buy Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Factory Company, one of Australia’s largest producers of milk, cheese, butter and other dairy products. Buying Warrnambool would add around $480 million to Saputo’s annual revenue of $7.3 billion. It would also give the company access to the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region. However, this firm continues to attract rival takeover offers, which is why Saputo recently raised its offer by 16.0% to $523 million. To put this figure in context, Saputo earned $133.3 million, or $0.67 a share, in the three months ended September 30, 2013. Warrnambool’s shares are trading for more than Saputo’s new offer. This shows that investors expect an even higher bid. Saputo…