News Articles for Australian Grains Champion

Prominent local businesswoman Samantha Tough has been named chair of ASX-listed 3D printing firm Aurora Labs, adding to her long list of board positions.

Grain handler CBH Group has shaken off a soft performance in its downstream Interflour businesses to report a 10 per cent increase in its surplus to $110 million for the year to October, after 13.6 million tonnes were transported through its network.

GrainCorp-backed Australian Grains Champion has written to Western Australian growers withdrawing a bid launched in February to corporatise and list cooperative grain handler CBH Group.

A processing plant to produce 60,000 tonnes of oats per year will be built in Forrestfield as part of CBH Group's expansion into milling.

Analysis by Deloitte suggests grain growers in the CBH Group network value add $771 million to the state's economy, while the grain handler directly contributes a further $348 million.

SPECIAL REPORT: A flurry of deals over the past fortnight, including four acquisitions by international companies expanding in Western Australia and the year's largest capital raising, has added life to a flat corporate finance market.

SPECIAL REPORT: The number of women serving on company boards is slowly one the rise, but it's still rare to see a female take the chair, judging by Business News's analysis of Western Australian company directors.

CBH Group is planning to launch a full review of its cooperative structure after formally rejecting a proposal from Australian Grains Champion to corporatise and list the business on the ASX.

Grower feedback has led the Australian Grains Champion to remove two clauses from its proposal to corporatise CBH Group, with the consortium continuing to criticize the CBH board's handling of the matter.

The Australian Grain Champion's proposal to demutualise CBH will most likely be rejected by the CBH board, but it could be the catalyst for a CBH-led demutualisation.

ANALYSIS: CBH has served WA grain growers for more than 80 years, but debate is raging about whether now is the time to kill the co-op.

Grain handler CBH Group has called for more information on the $1 billion-plus offer from Graincorp-backed Australian Grains Champion to corporatise and list the cooperative, highlighting concerns around long term cost increases, the proportion of grower ownership and board representation.

Sydney-based GrainCorp has emerged as a cornerstone investor in a bid to corporatise and list CBH Group, through a complex deal that would deliver up to $1 billion in cash plus share