Australia: Southcorp Ltd., Australia's second- biggest winemaker, told investors to reject Foster's Group Ltd.'s A$3.1 billion ($2.4 billion) bid because it doesn't reflect the company's improved profit outlook and potential savings for the buyer. The A$4.17-a-share offer doesn't account for A$160 million of savings that Foster's, Australia's biggest beer and winemaker, could achieve by closing wineries and centralizing production, Sydney-based Southcorp said in a statement on February 17, according to Bloomberg. The savings are worth A$2.13 a share, it said.

Buying Southcorp would give Foster's top-selling brands such as Rosemount and Lindemans, among the top ten wines in the U.K., and create the world's biggest maker of wine selling for more than $3 a bottle. Southcorp hasn't given a value for its shares and some investors doubted it is worth more.

It would be tough to find something that would justify a higher bid, it is a fairly full price that Foster's is bidding,'' said Atul Lele, who holds Southcorp for the $500 million he manages at White Funds Management in Sydney. �There is very little to justify the current Southcorp share price in terms of fundamentals. It didn't surprise me that there was no independent valuation.''

Southcorp Chief Executive John Ballard declined to say how much Melbourne-based Foster's, or any other bidder, would need to offer to gain board support.

�I am not going to respond to any suggestions on any prices other than the one that is on the table,'' Ballard told reporters on a conference call. ``That bid is A$4.17, it is opportunistic, just unacceptable and too low.''