From the bid's outset on October 14 the chances of success at $2.50 a share looked remote as the Comvita share price rallied, hitting a high last week of $3.00 a share.
Cerebos Gregg's chief executive George Crocker said the offer was priced on the company's understanding of the risks inherent in the operations of Comvita and the manuka honey industry, and the risks and costs associated with achieving continued growth in Asia.
"In our view, these factors do not justify a price anywhere near the valuation range indicated by the independent adviser's report,'' he said.
Crocker has said Cerebos would look at alternative ways to enter manuka honey manufacturing, including buying another manuka honey operator or setting up shop on its own account.
Comvita had allowed Cerebos to conduct a "due diligence'' on its books, indicating a degree of friendliness towards an offer, but relations turned sour when it came down to price.
When Cerebos came out with its offer, Comvita chairman Neil Craig described it as "unsolicited, unwelcome and opportunistic''.
The company's earnings record has been patchy in recent years, but it has forecast sales to be worth $91m to $95m in the March 2012 year, up from $82m in the previous year, and a ``normalised'' net profit for the year of $7.3m to $8.2m, up from $3.6m.
Crocker said Cerebos remained interested in manuka honey and that the company would look at the possibility of launching its own brand. He told APNZ that he would not rule out having another attempt to take over the company at some point in the future.
"It is not impossible but it is not our current plan,'' he said.
"Certainly we will be watching keenly to see how things go for Comvita.''
Meanwhile Craig said the board was sticking to its guns.
"As we have stated on several occasions, we believe the offer price undervalues Comvita by a considerable margin,'' he said in a statement.
Craig reiterated the board's advice that shareholders reject the offer.
