Australia's competition regulator will begin public hearings into one of the three offers for Australia's oldest dairy firm early next year, target Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Factory Co said on Thursday. The heated battle for Warrnambool has moved into the slow lane as two separate regulators examine offers from preferred bidder Canada's Saputo Inc and rival Murray Goulburn Co-operative Co Ltd.Warrnambool said the Australian Competition Tribunal had set Dec. 9 as a case management conference and Feb. 10 as the start of public hearings into Murray Goulburn's A$530 million bid.Murray Goulburn's offer is conditional on approval from the tribunal, which is likely to take between three and six months to make a decision.Warrnambool said it would seek to actively participate in the tribunal process.
Saputo Inc. produces, markets and distributes an array of dairy products in Canada, the United States, Argentina and Europe, as well as bakery products in Canada. Shares of SAP fell by 0.19% or $-0.09/share to $48.23. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $46.01 and as high as $54.62. On average, 292272 shares of SAP.TO exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 328413.
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