Saputo to lift bid for WCB; Hockey shifts focus to online GST threshold: Midday Roundup

Canadian dairy giant Saputo will up its bid for the Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Factory, should it be able to acquire a relevant interest of more than 50% in the company during the offer period.

In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange, the dairy company said it would up its offer to $9.20 cash per share from $9.

WCB have once again called on shareholders to accept Saputo’s offer in the absence of a superior proposal.

Hockey to focus on move lower GST threshold on online shopping purchases

Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey will focus this week on the push to lower the GST threshold of $1000 on online shopping purchases from overseas, as the state and federal treasurers meet in Canberra on Wednesday.

Parliamentary secretary to Hockey, Steven Ciobo, told Sky News the states will need to argue for a lower threshold.

“It’s the state governments that actually reach the agreement and put in place the framework around what the threshold should be and how much revenue should flow back to the states,” he says.

Australian retailers have been pushing for GST to be slapped on online goods, as they struggle to compete with overseas retailers.

Shares up on open

Aussie shares have opened higher this morning, as overnight on Friday the Dow Jones reached record highs.

The S&P/ASX200 benchmark was up 31.2 points to 5367.1 at 12:16pm AEDT. The Dow Jones was up 54.78 points to 16,064.77 overnight on Friday.