Headlines:
- First notice day for November futures is Monday, October 31st
- MP Evans shares soar to record high on hostile bid from KLK
Shares in MP Evans soared 45% to an all-time high after the London-listed plantations group, founded 146 years ago, received a hostile takeover bid by sector giant Kuala Lumpur Kepong. Kuala Lumpur Kepong – which, with a stock market value of 25.9bn ringgit ($6.2bn) ranks as one of the world’s biggest plantations groups – revealed that it had offered 640p per share for MP Evans, valuing the target company’s shares at £361m ($441m). While MP Evans rejected the offer, Kuala Lumpur Kepong, better known as KLK, said it “believes that MP Evans shareholders should now have the opportunity to decide on the merits of [the] offer”. MP Evans stock soared 45% to 621.625p in midday deals in London, an all-time high for the shares by a distance on records going back to 1983, and coming within 4% of the KLK offer price, suggesting the market sees a strong chance of a deal succeeding. Earlier, KLK shares closed down 0.2% at 24.24 ringgit in Kuala Lumpur, before the MP Evans was announced.
- DuPont upbeat – despite seeing ‘continued weakness’ in ag prices
DuPont forecast an improved close to 2016 for its ag division, despite expecting “continued weakness” in crop prices, as it underlined improved demand for agricultural products. But shares in the company eased, as it warned that a pending merger with Dow Chemical Company may not be completed by the end of the year, as planned. The $59bn tie-up – which would see DuPont’s agriculture sector spun out into a separate entity, creating the world’s largest agrichemical group – is awaiting authorization from European legislators. It has also emerged that European Union antitrust officials are also taking a keen interest in another mega-merger in the sector, the takeover of Syngenta by China-based Chem China – with fears over detailed scrutiny of the deal sending shares in the Swiss-based group tumbling on Monday.
Summary:
Wheat, Corn and Soybean were all quiet today. The new crop progress numbers were released after the close yesterday. The Corn harvest is up from 46% to 61% trailing the 5 year average by only one percentage point. The Soybean harvest is now in line with the 5 year average coming in at 76% which was slightly better than trade expectations. Winter Wheat is 79% planted up 7% from late week but trails the 5 year average by 3% (www.nass.usda.gov). Average temperatures are expected across most of the country with slightly above normal rain expected the upper Midwest and light rain for the southern corn belt. The rain in the Midwest could cause some Corn harvest delays. The USDA announced 516k metric tons of Beans for the 2016-17 marketing year to China. While across the newswires it is being reported that Brazil is cutting into the US’s Soybean sales to China. Brazil has already sold 4 cargo for delivery in the last two months of the year.
The grains finished the day little changed from yesterday. December Corn and March Corn gained 1.50 and 1.25 respectively. November and January Beans were off by 2 and 1 cent. December Wheat rounded out the trading day rising 1.50. We’re looking for Wheat to turn up from its lows this week.
