dairy and cheese businesses? A good old fashioned bidding war broke out over Easter, with rivals fighting for Unigate's St Ivel dairy and cheese businesses. The tension rose throughout the long weekend after Robert Wiseman Dairies and Dairy Crest had topped one another's offers. First Wiseman upset the £203m deal Unigate agreed with Dairy Crest in February with a surprise £225m cash offer. Dairy Crest then retaliated with a £235m cash offer added to its original all shares bid. This week the market was waiting with bated breath for Wiseman's counter offer ­ or would the Scottish group drop out? It was rumoured to have arranged £325m in financing. Wiseman is determined to expand from Scotland and the north of England. The Unigate business is more than three times the size of Wiseman and, if successful, Wiseman will be close in size to market leader Express. Dairy Crest said putting its business together with Unigate's will generate £25m of savings by the 2002-03 financial year. However Dairy Crest's original offer didn't go down well with investors who appear to prefer its Davidstow cheese and Clover spreads business to liquid milk: shares fell from 180p to 39p. Unigate originally advised shareholders to approve the Dairy Crest deal but changed its mind after the Wiseman offer, suggesting they take "no action" until all bids are in. It will put the final offers to shareholders at a special meeting, originally planned for May 15, but likely to be postponed because of the new developments. {{NEWS }}

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