Yealands tops rival's bid for Oyster Bay

Peter Yealands raised the stakes again yesterday in the bidding war for Oyster Bay vineyards in Marlborough.

His company raised its offer to $3.50 a share, putting a $31.5 million value on the company.

The new offer was 15c a share above winemaker Delegat's offer. Last night, Delegat's said it would raise its bid - but did not say by how much.

Independent valuer Ferrier Hodgson last month valued Oyster Bay at between $2.39 and $3.15 a share. Its "base case" valuation was $3.02 a share.

Yealands was not predicting a speedy resolution yesterday, saying that with both bidders able to extend their offers the struggle could continue for months.

"I suspect there are a lot more pages to turn in this book."

Peter Yealand Investments, which has extensive contract grape-growing interests and owns 6.7 per cent of Oyster Bay, is seeking to raise its stake to 51.1 per cent.

Delegat's wants to increase its existing 32.58 per cent stake to 50.1 per cent.

In a letter to shareholders, Yealands said shareholders accepting his offer stood a better chance of selling all of their shares than if they accepted a Delegat's offer. That was because he was seeking 4 million shares compared with Delegat's 1,576,500.

He reiterated his company "is not seeking to interfere with Oyster Bay's relationship with Delegat's, nor will be it be seeking to control Oyster Bay's board".

He was "dedicated to succeeding" in his bid, he said.

"I never took it on with a view to giving up lightly."

On Wednesday, Delegat's raised its bid to $3.35 a share. That is 15c a share higher than its first offer on June 17.

Yealands described Oyster Bay as one of the most poorly performing companies in a sharemarket that had been booming.

"They've had one 13c dividend in five or six years."