Wesfarmers takes mantle as WA's biggest company

It's official, Wesfarmers Ltd has become the Western Australia's most valuable company, the state's biggest employer and the nation's biggest retailer with today's implementation of a scheme of arrangement to take over the Coles Group Ltd.

The acquisition allowed Wesfarmers to pip Woodside Petroleum Ltd as the state's most valuable company.

Based on the market capitalisations of the various companies at market close today, Wesfarmers' $16.03 billion and Coles' $18.3 billion, combined at $34.33 billion, would be enough to push Woodside into second place with $32.83 billion.

Wesfarmers will have about 23,000 staff in WA following the acquisition, almost three times as many as the next biggest employer Woolworths. Details of employee numbers will be published in a fortnight in WA Business News' hard copy Biggest Employers feature.

Prior to the takeover, Wesfarmers was WA's fourth biggest employer behind third-placed BHP Billiton Ltd. While Wesfarmers has diverse businesses, its Bunnings retail hardware chain makes upo the bulk of its workforce.

Below is the Coles announcement:

The Scheme of Arrangement in relation to the acquisition of Coles Group Limited by Wesfarmers Limited has today been implemented.
All Coles Group ordinary shares have been transferred to Wesfarmers Retail Holdings Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Wesfarmers.
An application to delist Coles Group from ASX will be made shortly.
The members of the Coles Group Board have been replaced with a Board nominated by Wesfarmers. The Board of Coles Group Limited now comprises the following directors:
- Trevor Eastwood, Chairman of Wesfarmers;
- Bob Every, Non-executive director of Wesfarmers;
- Richard Goyder, Managing Director of Wesfarmers;
- James Graham, Non-executive director of Wesfarmers; and
- Gene Tilbrook, Finance Director of Wesfarmers.

Payment of Scheme Consideration

Cash consideration and the Coles fully franked Final Dividend will be paid directly into shareholders' nominated bank accounts today.
Wesfarmers ordinary shares and Wesfarmers Partially Protected shares (PPS) have also been registered in the name of Scheme Shareholders today.
Holding statements for new Wesfarmers ordinary shares and Wesfarmers PPS will be despatched by 30 November 2007. Trading of these shares is expected to commence on a normal settlement basis by 3 December 2007.
Coles shareholders may check details of their holdings by visiting the website www.linkmarketservices.com.au.