Final bids have been placed for Inghams Chicken, Australia's biggest poultry producer and two of the front runners are US private equity firms Blackstone Group LP and TPG Capital. The bids entered place the value of the company at about Aus$800 million according to sources with direct knowledge of the transaction told Reuters.
Both private equity firms submitted bids backed by bank financing, with Blackstone lining up funding from American markets while TPG using a group of commercial banks for the bid.
The sole shareholder of Inghams Enterprises is Bob Ingham. The company owns the Ingham Chicken brand and it placed the poultry producer on the auction block back in July 2012. The company engaged the services of Investec Bank to oversee the whole sale process and transfer.
When sought for comment, Blackstone and TPG did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Ingham's office in Sydney did not answer the call.
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