Senior executives of Kerry group and Golden Vale made their first direct contact yesterday since Kerry indicated it was interested in taking over its smaller rival. Kerry chief executive Mr Denis Brosnan and Golden Vale chief executive Mr Jim Murphy had a brief telephone conversation.
It is understood that Mr Murphy reiterated the view of the Golden Vale board that there was no point in having a meeting while Kerry had proposed an offer that undervalued the Golden Vale business.
Mr Murphy declined to comment on the discussion or even to confirm that it actually took place, but he stated: "An offer of €1.37 a share is not a serious basis for discussion.
"The company is worth far more than that."
He added that Golden Vale was also constrained by the fact that any additional information that it might supply to Kerry would have to be made available to anybody else who made an approach.
While no formal contacts between the two sides were planned, sources suggested that more informal contacts were likely in the week ahead.
A spokesman for Kerry expressed disappointment at the rebuff from Golden Vale and repeated its view that the €1.37 a share offer was "fair and reasonable based on all the information available to us".
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