WARRNAMBOOL Cheese and Butter has again rejected a takeover bid by Murray Goulburn.

MGC managing director Stephen O’Rourke said he was disappointed WCB had not yet agreed to enter discussions to combine the two countries.

“Our revised proposal offers WCB shareholders a price which is more than double the WCB share price in early December, before WCB announced the receipt of unsolicited proposals," Mr O'Rourke said.

"MG's offer also represents a price to earnings multiple of over 20 times expected 2010 earnings, based on analysts’ coverage. 

"Importantly, the proposal fairly shares the benefits of synergies from the merger between dairy farmers and shareholders.   

"Dairy farmers need higher returns and this is a genuine proposal to deliver exactly that. I am extremely disappointed that the Board has decided it is not going to engage seriously with us to get the proposal to the point where we can take it WCB shareholders." 

Mr O'Rourke said the Warrnambool response did not change Murray Goulburn's "belief in the strategic and financial merits of our proposal". 

"We believe both WCB shareholders and suppliers should be provided with the opportunity to realise the value inherent in our proposal," he said. 

Mr O'Rourke said that the co-operative would write to its supplier-shareholders next week and provide more detail about the proposal and the response from WCB.  

“We are 100 per cent Australian-farmer owned and we want to brief our farmers before speaking more widely next week,” he said.

Comment is being sought from Warrnambool Cheese and Butter.