Kuwaiti suitors won’t be getting Unikai anytime soon: Shareholders of DFM-listed Unikai Foods rejected Kuwait-based Al Wafir Marketing Services’ bid to acquire a controlling stake between 50% plus one share and 51% of Unikai’s issued and paid-up capital, according to a bourse disclosure (pdf). Despite the board’s recommendation to accept the AED 6.60 per share allcash offer, the assembly voted down all resolutions related to the takeover, including the independent financial and judicial opinions.

The offer was rejected despite coming at a 7.8% premium to its last closing price before the offer was submitted.

The rejection leaves Unikai’s modernization plans in limbo. We’ve previously noted that the company’s stretched balance sheet — with interest-bearing debt at over 3x its net income — as a primary driver for seeking a regional partner.

REMEMBER- The acquisition would have been another cross-Gulf play, after Al Futtaim’s stake acquisition in Saudi Arabia’s Cenomi Retail last year. It bore a lot of the characteristics of Al Futtaim’s play: a heritage family conglomerate (the Al Mullas) faces operational headwinds and brings in a heavy-hitting regional operator (Al Wafir) to fix the house.

What’s next? Unikai says it is now evaluating its next steps. We’ll be keeping an eye out to see if Al Wafir chooses to revise its offer.

ADVISORS- Al Wafir had appointed Fab as financial advisor and lead receiving bank, with Al Tamimi & Company providing counsel. Al Mal Capital acted as an independent financial advisor, and Abdulla Alawadi & Associates provided counsel to Unikai.

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