As has been confirmed by the company, after it was forced to explain to the ASX as to why its share price suddenly surged from $1.96 on December 1 to more than $2.23 by today, Warrnambool Cheese and Butter has rejected an "solicited take-over offer" from a mystery bidder which led to a jump of 70 cents in share prices within a week.

In an explanation letter to the ASX, WCB chairman Frank Davis disclosed that the firm had received a proposal from a third party which had "expressed an interest in the possible acquisition of WCB", while stressing that the offer is "incomplete, non-binding and subject to a number of condition", which led to its immediate rejection.

"After taking advice from professional advisers, the board has informed the third party that the indicative proposal does not incorporate appropriate value to reflect the strong prospects of the company and it cannot be recommended to shareholders in its current form", Mr. Davis wrote.

The company, in the letter, was also quick to hint that, in addition to the takeover proposal, there are some other, minor factors which have contributed to the price rise, without being very clear about anything.