Canada's Saputo secures last slice of Australia's Warrnambool Cheese and Butter

SYDNEY, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Canadian dairy company

Saputo

Inc on Wednesday bought out Australian firm

Warrnambool Cheese

and Butter Factory Co Holdings Ltd's (WCB) largest minority shareholder,

Lion Pty Ltd

, all but securing a takeover offer for the 12 percent of WCB that Saputo does not already own. "We accepted Saputo's offer today," Lion spokeswoman Charlotte Churchill told Reuters. Saputo raised its offer price on Tuesday to A$9.05 per share from A$8.85 and Lion, ultimately owned by Japan's Kirin Holdings Co Ltd, sold its 10.23 percent stake in WCB at that price, Churchill said, for a total consideration of A$71.3 million ($54.8 million). The revised price values WCB at A$697.6 million. Saputo could not immediately be reached for comment. Saputo acquired its majority stake in WCB in 2014, beating local rivals

Murray Goulburn Ltd

and Bega Cheese Ltd in one of

Australia

's most hotly contested takeover battles. The company had said earlier it would would fund the acquisition from cash on hand. ($1 = 1.3006 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)
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