(Adds analyst's comment; updates share move)
June 27 (Reuters) - Canada's SunOpta Inc SOY.TO STKL.O
said it hired financial and legal advisers to explore strategic
alternatives, months after largest shareholder Tourbillon
Capital Partners LP urged the organic foods company to sell
itself.
The strategic review follows talks with large shareholders,
who concluded that "now is not the right time to commence an
outright sale of the company," SunOpta said in a statement.
Hedge fund Tourbillon, which holds a 9.9 percent stake in
SunOpta, said in May that it was going public with its request
for a sale of the company after months of private talks.
Tourbillon said then that it might push for changes to
SunOpta's board and management if business did not pick up.
"SunOpta continues to transition into a consumer packaged
goods company. The plan is on point in our view, however we
await execution, which remains the clear obstacle for financial
success," D.A. Davidson analyst Eric Gottlieb wrote in a note.
The brokerage reiterated its "buy" rating and $6 price
target, calling the stock "well undervalued".
SunOpta, which specializes in sourcing, processing and
packaging of organic food products, said on Monday that it hired
Rothschild Inc as its financial adviser and Davies Ward Phillips
& Vineberg LLP as legal adviser.
The Toronto-based company has also hired Russell Reynolds
Associates to help identify director candidates, including those
suggested by shareholders.
A spokeswoman for Tourbillon declined to comment.
SunOpta's U.S.-listed stock was down 5.2 percent at $3.95 in
early afternoon trading, reversing premarket gains. Its
Toronto-listed stock was down 4.2 percent at C$5.21.