SHARES in poultry group Sovereign Food Investments perched close to a 12-month high on Thursday, after larger rival Country Bird Holdings tabled a buy-out offer at 900c/share.
At the close of trade Sovereign’s shares were up 16.55% to 838c — close to the 880c annual high recorded in October last year.
Country Bird already owns about 10% of Sovereign, and has pitched its premium priced buy-out offer at a difficult juncture for domestic poultry. Chicken producers face increased input costs after a prolonged drought, new brining regulations and an influx of imported chicken.