By PHILIPPA STEVENSON AND AGENCIES
Burns Philp yesterday extended its takeover offer for Goodman Fielder by two weeks to February 18.
The move follows appeals to Australia's Takeovers Panel by both Burns Philp and Goodman Fielder.
On Tuesday New Zealand billionaire Graeme Hart's company turned up the heat on breadmaker Goodman Fielder by
asking the panel to declare "unacceptable circumstances" over its target's response to its $2.4 billion offer.
The yeast and spice company is seeking the declaration and certain orders in relation to Goodman Fielder's target statement and related matters.
The declaration would open the door for Burns Philp to quit or revise its bid for Goodman Fielder, which announced two weeks ago that it might face tax charges of up to A$101.6 million ($109.3 million).
The panel, a forum for resolving takeover disputes, has already adjudicated once on the increasingly acrimonious takeover which Goodman has advised its shareholders to reject. The same panel will consider the latest case.
It said Burns Philp's concerns included equality of access to information concerning Goodman between rival bidders; Goodman's addressing of Burns Philp's accounting conditions in its bidder's statement; various aspects of the target statement, particularly assumptions used in forecasts; and comparisons between the Burns Philp bid and others in the food industry used by Goodman in recent advertisements.
"Burns Philp claims that it does not have sufficient information to determine whether matters announced by Goodman Fielder triggered conditions of the offer and, were they to have been triggered, whether Burns Philp would rely upon those breaches," the panel's statement said.
It said it had not yet sought the views of Goodman and had formed no views on the application.
Panel director Nigel Morris said it gives parties to an application a brief of the issues on which it requires submissions.
As well as making their own submissions the parties had an opportunity to rebut submissions by any other party.
Goodman Fielder shares closed yesterday up 2Ac at A$1.76, below Burns Philp's $A1.85 offer price. Burns Philp shares were steady at 51Ac.
