Fuelled by sources such as Marcus Today, which is produced under the licence of Tolhurst Noall Ltd, and which claims to be ‘The Stockmarket Newsletter for Every Investor’, there is yet more speculation concerning a takeover bid by Fosters Ltd for Southcorp. Apparently, according to Marcus Today, ‘talk is’ (great euphemism, that, for journalistic licence) that nine Fosters people were in Southcorp’s offices yesterday, and ‘that it is not a question of whether Fosters are doing due diligence on Southcorp but whether they will bid’. Marcus Today also fuels speculation that Fosters reckons Southcorp to be worth $1.90 per share against its present price (at time of writing) of $3.14. It also speculates that the bid will be ‘pitched at $3.50 and end up at $4.00’. Direct feedback this morning from Bill Clark, Southcorp’s Executive General Manager Corporate Affairs and Investor Relations was straightforward and to the point: ‘Absolute rubbish’.
