Kerry Group shareholders have voted favour of a sale of the Dublin-listed company’s dairy processing division in two stages to its main shareholder, Kerry Co-op, in a deal worth a total of €500 million.
The nutrition giant said in a statement on Thursday that all resolutions proposed at an extraordinary general meeting earlier in the day in Tralee, Co Kerry, were passed, as had been widely anticipated.
The vote comes three days after members of the co-op who were qualified to vote on the matter also backed the deal.
The co-op, which currently owns about 11 per cent of Kerry Group, will sell 15 per cent of its holding to part finance the initial stage of the deal, that would see it take a 70 per cent stake in Kerry Dairy Ireland. This is expected to conclude by the end of January.
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The deal will also see the co-op distribute the remainder of its holding in Kerry Group, worth €1.4 billion, among its own members – meaning the co-op will cease to be a shareholder in the plc.
The co-op will have an option to acquire the remaining stake in the joint venture for €150 million by July 2030.
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The deal covers milk processing plants in the Republic and the UK as well as well-known brands such as Dairygold spreads, Charleville cheese and Cheestrings snacks. The business has 1,500 employees and will continue to supply Kerry Group.
The initial 70 per cent stake purchase, for €350 million, will be partly funded by Kerry Group buying back €251 million of its shares from the co-op. The listed company will lend the co-op a further €43 million to fund the deal, while the remaining €56 million will come from third-party debt.
Kerry Group, which floated on the stock market in 1986 and is currently led by chief executive Edmond Scanlon, has long left its dairy co-op roots behind to become a global taste and nutrition giant. The imminent disposal of a majority stake in Kerry Dairy Ireland is a big milestone and frees up resources for the core business, according to analysts.
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