The United States-headquartered company is the largest supplier of tree seedlings in the world, selling 400million a year worldwide.
Its New Zealand operation comprises six nurseries, including one in Southland, two seed orchards, a Ministry for Primary Industries-accredited level3 post-entry quarantine facility and a tissue laboratory.
In a statement to the NZX yesterday, the company said it had received a proposal from a credible third party to acquire all of the shares in, or assets of, ArborGen.
After the announcement, its share price surged more than 25% to $0.290 a share.
It described the potential deal as ‘‘non-binding, indicative, incomplete and highly conditional’’.
After a subcommittee of ArborGen’s directors assessed the proposal, it concluded it had ‘‘materially undervalued the company’’.
After that assessment, the board decided to begin a strategic review.
The objective of the strategic review was to consider all options to unlock value for the benefit of all shareholders.
Those options included a potential sale of all of the shares in, or all or some of the assets of, the company, or a US listing, the company said.
PwC New Zealand had been engaged to assist ArborGen in undertaking the review.
The company said there was no certainty that any transaction or other change would result from the review.
The share price closed at $0.265 at the end of trading yesterday.
