Yarraman Winery Inc is considering a fresh takeover proposal for Evans & Tate, three months after the little-known US-based company's opportunistic $148 million bid was rejected by the Margaret River winery.
A spokesman for Yarraman said the company was considering making a fresh play for E&T following speculation that E&T's board were discussing potential offers and restructuring proposals that valued the winery's shares at less than 6 cents each.
Yarraman's original $131 million bid for the company, launched in December, valued E&T stock at 19.8 cents and it later sweetened the deal.
However, the E&T board were not convinced about Yarraman's financial credentials and terminated merger discussions in March.
Yarrman's bid surfaced after it struck a deal with E&T's former executive chairman Franklin Tate to buy the bulk of his shareholding in the winemaker.
Perhaps the deal, which would have seen Mr Tate pocket $3.6 million, would have provided the funds for an "investment idea" which prompted him to register the company Fredrick The Great Pty Ltd with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission in October.
According to Mr Tate's public relations consultant, Fredrick The Great Pty Ltd was established for an "idea" Mr Tate had but one that had not yet been executed.
She said Mr Tate named the company after the boat that transported his grandfather from Germany to Australia in 1912.
Meanwhile, speculation that former ERG Ltd chief executive Peter Fogarty is behind a restructure proposal for E&T has intensified following revelations by WA Business News last week that he was linked to an E&T takeover proposal.
It was understood Mr Fogarty's bid valued the shares at between 5 cents and 6 cents but the E&T board knocked back the offer.
Mr Fogarty has reportedly ruled out a backdoor listing of his Fogarty Wine Group as part of any deal with E&T but he has not ruled out playing a role in a revival of the company.
E&T shares remain suspended after it revealed on Wednesday that its bankers, ANZ Banking Group Ltd, had terminated a balance sheet restructure plan struck on May 10 because it had failed to secured a third-party co-investor.
