Qld Cotton halts share trading

Monday, June 04, 2007

In a surprising twist in the battle to control Australia's biggest cotton company, the stock exchange has halted trading on Queensland Cotton shares.

The company requested the halt on a day when analysts expected international trading house Louis Dreyfus to either increase its takeover bid or choose to accept a rival offer from Olam International.

ABN Amro analyst Belinda Moore says share prices have risen eight per cent this week, to close at $5.89.

"It is certainly a wait and see game," she said.

"You know the key winners in all this are the shareholders and I think based on current offers shareholders will receive a very attractive price given the difficult outlook for cotton due to drought over the short to medium term."

Sourced from ABC.