By Rishav Chatterjee
(Reuters) -Hong Kong-listed dairy packaging firm Greatview Aseptic said on Friday a potential bid from a group of its managers, including its chairman, would not proceed, days after a buyout offer from a Shenzhen-listed rival became unconditional.
Shandong Newjf Technology Packaging, known as Xinjufeng, offered to buy Greatview in May, valuing it at HK$3.73 billion ($478.92 million).
Greatview said earlier this week that the offer from Xinjufeng had become unconditional, with 46.71% of shareholders voting in favour.
Arguably, Xinjufeng is already in control of Greatview, said David Blennerhassett, an analyst at Smartkarma.
Greatview chairman Jeff Bi and co-founder Hong Gang in August sent a non-binding letter of interest to the firm, saying they were mulling a potential counter-offer.
Bi and Gang together owned a stake of around 15% in the firm and had called Xinjufeng’s proposal a “cynical attempt” by a smaller competitor to disrupt Greatview’s operations and business, adding the bid was “opportunistic” and “unattractive”.
Xinjufeng became Greatview’s largest shareholder after acquiring a 28% stake in the company in 2023 from Singapore-listed Jardine Matheson.
Greatview, according to its website, manufactures and sells filling machines and paper packaging non-carbonated and dairy soft drink producers.
The firm posted a net profit after tax of 117.5 million Chinese yuan ($16.22 million) for the six months ended June, and reported revenue of 1.63 billion yuan.
Shares in the company closed on Friday at HK$2.63. They hit Xinjufeng’s offer price of HK$2.65 earlier in the week, reaching a record high.
($1 = 7.7883 Hong Kong dollars)
($1 = 7.2454 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru. Editing by Shreya Biswas and Mark Potter)
