NZ milk company a2 receives mystery takeover offer; James Packer and Mariah Carey on romantic holiday in Capri: Midday Roundup

Milk company a2 has received takeover offers from two confidential parties who warned their request would be taken away if their identities were made public.

The New Zealand dairy giant has said two parties have put in a joint expression of interest in buying all shares in a2 Milk, Fairfax reports.

Currently the single biggest shareholder in the company is Australian-based Freedom Food Group, with a 19.14% share.

The company will now consider the proposal, however, the a2 board has said a takeover was not imminent.

James Packer and Mariah Carey on romantic holiday in Capri

Australian casino mogul James Packer and singer Mariah Carey have been secretly dating for weeks and were photographed in Italy on a family romantic getaway over the weekend. 

Less than 24 hours after it was revealed the couple were dating, pictures were posted of the 47-year-old son of media legend Kerry Packer, and the 45-year-old singer on Carey’s Instagram account walking hand-in-hand around the island of Capri in Italy.

It was only last August when Packer wined and diner former Victoria’s Secret model Miranda Kerr on the same yacht off the coast of Spain.

Shares down as Greek default looms

Local shares are down this morning ahead of a potential emergency in Europe, with the likelihood of Greece’s debt default looming.

However, Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, said in a statement the issue will unlikely have much of an impact on the Australian market.

“While the question of whether Greece stays in the Euro looms as a significant event in economic history, potentially impacting the lives of many people, it seems the broader international markets have concluded that it’s a question that’s unlikely to have much relevance for them,” said Spooner.

“The Australian share market, being far more removed from any potential Greek fallout… managed a positive week and looks set to head into tonight’s crisis meetings in a relatively without much concern.”

The S&P/ASX200 benchmark was down 22.3 points to 5574.7 points at 11:55am AEST. On Friday, the Dow Jones closed down 0.55%, falling 99.89 points to 18,016.0 points.