A hostile move is being made to buy the Andersons, a diversified company with agricultural roots including part-ownership of Thompsons grain handlers in Ontario.
HC2 Holdings is offering to buy the entire operation for just over 1 billion dollars plus the assumption of over 400 million dollars in debt.
It's alternative offer is to pay 950 million dollars for Andersons Grain and Rail Groups, excluding it's investments in Lansing and Thompsons.
HC2 Holdings is a diversified company with subsidiaries in a number of segments, including manufacturing, utilities and life sciences.
The Andersons board of directors has rejected the offers, arguing they undervalue the company and are not in the best interests of its shareholders and other stakeholders.
HC2 says the Andersons has been poorly managed and has not been effective in extracting synergies of any significance from the five disparate corporte entities it owns, controls and operates.
The holding company has made its offers public, prompting the Andersons board to issue its statement rejecting both bids.
