Publications
Publications
- December 2017 (Revised February 2021)
- HBS Case Collection
Bega Cheese: Bidding to Bring Vegemite Back Home
By: Benjamin C. Esty and Lauren G. Pickle
Abstract
In January 2017, the leadership team of Bega Cheese—the Australian dairy company—was considering a bid for Mondelēz International’s Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) grocery business, which included several leading consumer brands such as Vegemite, the iconic Australian spread. The team must decide whether to bid for the division and, if so, how much to offer and how to finance the all-cash bid. Making these decisions was difficult because this would be Bega’s largest acquisition ever and it would extend the firm outside of its core dairy business. In addition to the valuation and financing issues, the leadership team must decide whether shifting from the firm's current B2B business model (manufacturing and processing dairy products) to a more B2C business model (a producer of branded consumer foods) made sense strategically.
Keywords
Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Value Drivers; Discounted Cash Flow (DCF); Dairy Industry; Corporate Scope; Consumer Goods; Iconic Brands; Bidding Strategy; Cross Border; Financing; Mergers and Acquisitions; Valuation; Value Creation; Diversification; Business Divisions; Corporate Finance; Capital Structure; Food; Bids and Bidding; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Australia; United States
Citation
Esty, Benjamin C., and Lauren G. Pickle. "Bega Cheese: Bidding to Bring Vegemite Back Home." Harvard Business School Case 218-001, December 2017. (Revised February 2021.)