Kerry Co-op members vote in favour of proposal to buy Kerry Dairy Ireland for €500m
Munster Over Of 1 From Of Kerry Litres Group A Ireland Farms Is Division Across Current Dairy Kerry Family 2,740 The Billion 1 Processing Business Milk Annually
Kerry Co-op shareholders across Munster have voted in favour of the proposal to acquire Kerry Dairy Ireland and a share exchange with Kerry Group that will deliver around €1.4bn of value directly to all Kerry Co-op members.
The proposal was approved by 82% of eligible members present at a Special General Meeting of the Co-op held today in Killarney.
The proposal, which was announced in November, marks a significant milestone with Kerry Group becoming solely a taste and nutrition business as Kerry Co-op regains control of dairy processing.
James Tangney, Chairman of Kerry Co-op said: “I am very pleased that the A&B shareholders of Kerry Co-op have today voted in favour of the proposal. Today’s acceptance commences a journey that will ultimately lead to the full ownership of Kerry Dairy Ireland, one of the leading dairy businesses in the country, while its also releases 85% of Kerry Co-op’s Kerry Group shares into the hands of our members to be retained or sold by each of them at a time of their choosing."
Mr Tangney called the transaction "transformational" for Kerry Co-op, adding that it satisfies "the diverse aspirations of the vast majority of members."
"Working in partnership with Kerry Group, the focus of the Kerry Dairy Ireland Board will be to transition the business to that of a Co-op ethos and build further on the strong commercial platform in place to deliver sustainable returns in the months and years ahead for all our members," Mr Tangney continued.
"We look forward to working with Pat Murphy, CEO of Kerry Dairy Ireland, and his accomplished leadership team to make this a reality.”
In addition to the buyback, the proposal offers just under 12,000 farmers and other shareholders in Kerry Co-op a pathway to turn €1.4bn worth of co-op shares into cash.
As a result, the deal could lead to a major economic injection for Kerry and the wider Munster region.
Kerry Dairy Ireland is a current business division of the Kerry Group processing over 1.1 billion litres of milk annually from 2,740 family farms across Munster. It employs more than 1,500 staff, exporting to over 58 countries worldwide.
The business delivered sales of €1.3bn in 2023 and has a strong portfolio of dairy food brands including Cheestrings, Dairygold, EasiSingles, LowLow, Kerrymaid and Charleville.
The value of the co-op’s current shareholding will see shareholders given shares in Kerry Group for 85% of their co-op shareholding. The remaining 15% will be re-invested, with additional borrowings, to acquire Kerry Dairy Ireland in two stages.
Under the agreement, 70% of Kerry Dairy Holdings will be acquired before the end of January 2025 and 30% up to 2035. A value of €350m has been set for the 70% interest based on a total Enterprise Value of €500m.