New Britain Palm Oil Takeover Offer to Get Extension For EU Regulators

LONDON--New Britain Palm Oil Ltd. (NBPO.LN), a palm oil producer, said it will take longer than expected for European regulators to approve the takeover offer put forward by Malaysian conglomerate Sime Darby Bhd. in October.

New Britain referred to a Sime Darby statement that said: "Following recent discussions with the E.U. Commission, it has been determined that additional time will be required for the collation of further market data to aid the analysis of the complex and dynamic palm oil market in Europe and the impact of the proposed transaction."

"This will result in a delay in the expected timing of the E.U. Commission's clearance decision," Sime Darby added.

The terms of the offer will be changed to allow enough time to satisfy the E.U. requirements, New Britain said. Exact dates haven't yet been determined.

In a trading statement, New Britain said it processed 1,802,157 tonnes of fresh fruit bunches in the first nine months of 2014, 11.2% higher than the comparable period a year earlier. Crude palm-oil extraction rates averaged 22.23% compared with 21.98% a year earlier.

Pretax profit in the first nine months of 2014, excluding unrealized non-cash foreign exchange losses, was $89.6 million, up from $40.5 million a year earlier, New Britain added.

Write to Ed Ballard at [e-mail]

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