Australia: Coopers Brewery goes on in the battle with Lion Nathan over its takeover bid

The Australian Coopers Brewery, now defending itself against a hostile takeover bid of A$352 million by Lion Nathan, nearly tripled its final dividend after increasing annual profit by half, Bloomberg announced on October 3.

Coopers is going to pay its 117 shareholders a final dividend of A$3 a share, up from A$1.05 a year ago, after increasing net profit by 51 % to A$14.3 million in the year ended June 30.

Chief executive, Tim Cooper released annual results earlier than usual to show the company's stakeholders "the value of staying on board with us and not selling out to Lion Nathan." Coopers said sales of the first two months of this year were 18 % above the year-earlier figures, exceeding internal targets.

Nevertheless, Rob Murray, Lion Nathan chief executive stated that investors should ask themselves whether a A$3 dividend was a good enough return for a A$260 share.