SUGAR marketer Queensland Sugar has denied that its recent purchase of a nearly 10 per cent stake in Tully Sugar will be used to block Maryborough Sugar Factory from taking control of the far-north Queensland mill.
Tully has been fending off a hostile 13-for-one scrip offer from Maryborough, which could help establish Maryborough as a larger raw sugar exporter and threaten QSL's monopoly export arrangements.
QSL at present operates on behalf of seven milling companies, including Tully, which account for about 95 per cent of bulk raw sugar exports from Queensland.
QSL's new chief executive, Neil Taylor, told The Australian Financial Review the company was not interested in taking over Tully, and he said the shares were not bought to thwart Maryborough's bid.
"We don't have any plans to become directly involved in Sugar milling," he said. "Tully has been an important contributor to the QSL pool over the years. We view this as a strategic stake. We don't view it as a blocking stake. It's a mutually beneficial relationship that we want to see continue."
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