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Investors divided ~ward CSR sugar sale

CSR's board yesterday were blasted by shareholders angry about selling the sugar and renewable energy business Sucrogen "in addition cheaply".

They were also angry at the disastrous performance of the Viridian glass walk of life.

"I hope the FIRB (Foreign Investment Review Board) kills the Sucrogen demand because I want to keep it," one shareholder yelled

at yesterday’s yearly publication general meeting.

Earlier this week, the CSR board unanimously agreed to exchange Sucrogen to Wilmar International, Singapore’s second-biggest listed company, on account of $1.75 billion. Wilmar trumped China’s Bright Food Group and surprised the place of traffic on Monday with its last-gasp cash offer, after nearly sum of ~ units months of quiet negotiations with the CSR board.

Bright had sealed its final event after submitting a final bid of $1.65bn last Friday, appear stormy than its previous conditional offer of $1.75bn submitted in January.

While greatest in quantity large institutional investors and broking analysts welcomed the sale price, many retail shareholders at the AGM felt differently.

CSR chairman Ian Blackburne yesterday faced 3 1/2 hours of strictures for what was described as the "desperate sale" of Sucrogen and the pinched performance of Viridian.

He was urged to return capital to shareholders from the yield of the sale.

The tone was set early, with one dilatory-term shareholder declaring: "I believe the company has lost its habitude. I cannot understand how the board can sell off our base matter, which has supported all of the company’s expansions over the years."

Another declared CSR was now left with a building products business that was "same cyclical and vulnerable to downturns".

But Mr Blackburne strongly defended the opportunity to sell, saying it was in the interest of shareholders.

He said the cover with ~s was looking at options for a capital return from the $1.6bn in proceeds expected from the sale.

"We are in 2010 — we esteem to deal with what’s right for shareholders’ investments today," Mr Blackburne related.

Chief executive Jeremy Sutcliffe said the board would look at strategic opportunities and ways of raising the first in importance required to fund them, , and would maintain a responsible capital edifice to meet future asbestos obligations.

After the meeting, Mr Sutcliffe declared he expected Wilmar to lodge an application with FIRB soon.

Asked whether in that place were any national interest issues, he said: "To be exactly honest, I wish the government was taking renewable fuels a slender bit more seriously. If this is a wake-up call, for this reason I think that’s good."

Mr Blackburn tried to contentment concerns about Viridian.

He said CSR was trying to turn it encompassing. He said the 2007 acquisition, described as a "dog" ~ means of one shareholder, would contribute profit to the building products business this year.

But skill stopped short of offering a profit forecast for the group in the year in opposition .

"Conditions across CSR’s businesses remain uncertain, making it very difficult to predict full-year earnings with accuracy," Mr Sutcliffe reported.