THE board of NSW based co-operative Dairy Farmers has today agreed accept a $910 million offer from Japanese brewer Kirin who already own National Foods.
The 108 year old Dairy Farmers Co-operative has grown to be one of Australia’s largest dairy processors with farmer members in QLD, NSW, VIC and South Australia. The proposal has been recommended by the Dairy Farmers board and will be voted on by shareholder vote later this year.
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“National Foods, owned by Japanese brewer Kirin, had faced down other potential buyers, including a consortium of Italian dairy group Parmalat and Victorian dairy co-operative Murray Goulburn.
That consortium broke up earlier this month while another potential bidder, New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra, pulled out of the race earlier this year.
Canadian dairy firm Saputo was also believed to have interested in the Australian co-operative.
Kirin teamed with Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory Co on the bid, with the companies to establish a joint venture for cheese.
Buying Dairy Farmers will increase Kirin’s access to supply in Australia, the world’s third-largest dairy exporter, and will add brands including Coon and Cracker Barrel cheeses, Ski yogurt and Dairy Farmers’ name sake milk.”
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Another Australian Iconic Food producer and an enormous chuck of our fresh milk supply is sold to a foreign company.
With foreign corporations steadily buying up our iconic and biggest food producers with the ability to export all production if need be, arn’t there some serious implication for our national food security down the track?
Or am I just being paranoid?
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Update 26/08/2008 @2pm
Whilst the offer has been accepted by the board it still has to be ratified by 75% of the 2,000 farmer shareholders and also gain the approval of the ACCC.
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Have your say! What do you think?
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Tags: Dairy Farmers, Kirin, National Foods
I am sickened, yet again, by the amount of Australian food production that is in foreign hands
or soon will be.
Hopefully the 2,000 Australian Dairy Farmers will not succumb to the temptation to turn over part of their industry to someone whose profits, along with who knows what else, will go out of the country. What excuse did their Board put forward for them to agree to such a proposal?
A country that can feed itself has some bargaining power but we are cursed with stupid Governments who cannot see this and approve foreign takeovers to the detriment of our industries.
The fact that Australia reduces or removes tariffs when no other country does so is a testament to our future.
No, you are not being paranoid. Of course there are serious implications.
I can’t figure out why successful cooperatives sell out anyway. They were formed in the first place to provide a better deal for the producers. Why would you sell out a profitable concern so that you could take pot luck with your produce in the future?
Time and again boards and managers seem to convince growers to “kill the goose that lays the golden egg”, as the old saying goes.