Kerry Co Op Shares

This is geared towards milk suppliers having full control of their own milk coop and them making decisions ... don't be expecting dividends being paid to dry shareholders anyway

The coop board and advisories are made up of milk suppliers who also created their own destiny in shares and milk...it's their proposal to the coop shareholders.....carpetbagging coop shares is 100 times worse…inheritance of coop shares is usually a unavoidable event.

people are free to make their own informed decisions .
listen to all sides and do what best for you own situation ,

Let’s go to the meetings and get the facts as best we can ,

At moment it’s just opinion that’s floating around ,

Emotions should be best left out of all business decisions .
stick to facts ,

we just need a steady fair milk price in a steady business model .

Mid 50s now so I won't go mad with it. left Kerry late 80s and had to make my own way, got a few shares from the father helped me with a deposit for my house, have a few left hoping I can do the same for my own kids. I don't live in Kerry anymore but very proud of Kerry group and Kerry. Milked plenty cows and it stood to me in the building sites of Manchester and dublin. Unfortunately the land couldn't sustain us all and some of us had to move on.

I’m not even a shareholder—I’m just a farm labourer. For technical questions like that, your best bet is to ring the Charleville office and ask to speak with Pat Murphy.

For what it’s worth, the dairy business made €53m last year and €70m the year before that. And yes, that doesn’t include depreciation—but let’s not pretend depreciation is anything more than an accounting strategy to reduce the tax bill. It’s not money walking out the door.

After this deal, the co-op will owe roughly €100m. To put that into perspective, imagine a farm making €60K a year—does anyone seriously think that a €100K bank loan means the place is doomed? If so, I’d question their grasp on basic economics.

As for the producer group, they’ve yet to find even one processor willing to take so much as a pint of milk. The other co-ops clearly aren’t interested in a price war to poach us. Whether people like it or not, we’re with Kerry, so we may as well try to make it work.

That being said, some of the comments here have me genuinely concerned for the mental health of a few contributors. This JV seems to be eating people alive, and that’s not healthy for anyone. Maybe it’s worth considering whether venting on an internet forum is really the most productive way to cope.

Hi Cute George. If you read my comment you’ll see that I’m concerned for the mental health of another poster. This JV seems be genuinely deeply distressing for them. I’m trying to be the voice of reason. It’s just a JV, no need for anyone to be awake at night worrying about it.

MOD NOTE: You got a warning for playing the mental health card above. Change your posting style or face a ban, your choice.

Oh boy, where to begin with you? 😂😂 You replied to me at 7:14 pm, and when I gave you a fact-based, constructive response at 7:58, your immediate reaction was to accuse me of being bipolar. 🤦‍♂️🤣

Talk about derailing a thread. I made a level-headed comment encouraging calm and positivity, genuinely concerned about another poster’s mental health, and now you’re accusing me of being mentally ill and even blaming me for impacting others’ mental health. 🤦‍♂️😂 Incredible debating skills on the JV there, pal.

If you’ve got such a problem with me, I’m happy to give you my number so you can call me directly, rather than dragging the thread down with this nonsense. Let me know.

I think you were doing well up to now. After this deal, the coop may end up owing 350m , and liability could be more.

As other coops starve for milk, they could move to canabilise. Some have tried this previously, just before the end of quotas.

The reaskn for a missing piece of the jigsaw is intreagueing.

Why is the pathway to success for the new entity being hidden?

If the full picture was disclosed, who might vote against this deal?

I've seen the Dairygold rational on spend. They wpuld have stuck rigidly to the narrative thatdebt will maximise at say 200million, hiding the actual amounts being invested, as investments happened over a number of years, and leasing was used for factory equipment, not appearing against the debt figure.

The same is happening here. The debt will max out at 100 million, however the spend is more like 100 million loan, 165 million balancing payment, 25 million ongoing for a number of years on plant upgrades.

The figure of the total investment is the important one. It could be very substantial.

Answers should be forthcoming, hopefully you'll get them.

Thanks for info. I have put questions on another post. From speaking with a few advisory members I'm still lost. They are checking details but co op need to use information sessions to give clarity and not rely that the 5.3 shares will get them over the line. The book the board produced is very weak talks nothing of financing, mgt structure etc. The A don't seem convinced and the B could feel they are better off vote against it than for it... as I'm sure a no vote will see a new deal regardless of what board may feel

Hi Bellview, I hope you’re keeping well! I completely understand where you’re coming from—there’s been a lot of confusion and heightened emotions around this JV.

Let me try to address some of your concerns. First off, the management team for the JV will remain exactly the same, ensuring continuity in running the business effectively. The board of the new co-op will consist of 13 members: 7 from the current co-op board, 2 independent directors, 3 directors from Kerry Group, and the CEO of the JV, who will also serve on the board.

Everyone who currently holds A, B, or C shares in Kerry Co-op will keep the same shares in the new co-op with no changes to their classification or numbers.

Regarding the co-op funds, I’d be fairly certain they’ll be used to help finance the JV.

I also want to touch on the past issues with the “cash for shares” scheme. The previous co-op management sold 6.12 KG shares for every 1 co-op share cashed out, but only gave shareholders the cash value of 5.9 shares. The leftover funds were later used to buy KG shares at high prices, which ended up costing the co-op a fortune. To be absolutely clear, no one currently in power was involved in that mess.

That said, I completely agree with you about the poor communication so far. It feels like the PLC is taking this vote for granted, which is disappointing. They need to step up their game and provide shareholders with the detailed information they deserve.

Thanks for raising these points, Bellview—I’m happy to chat further if you or anyone else has more questions. Feel free to message me privately to discuss it in more detail.

Hi Ginger22,

I’m far from a PR manager for this JV—I’m just a young farmer sharing what I’ve learned and offering clarity where I can. I’ve been following this process closely, as it impacts my livelihood, just like everyone else here.

There’s no hidden agenda. I’ve taken the time to understand the deal and contribute constructively to the discussion. If sharing accurate information and encouraging a level-headed approach comes across as PR, then maybe we need more of it in this thread.

I’d be happy to hear your thoughts or address any concerns you have about the JV. After all, that’s what we’re here for, isn’t it?

They are only a section of Kerry suppliers many are 100 minutes away and some another 30 minutes beyond that. Killarney is only 40minutes from Mallow but DG will not venture into that area.

Both Tirlan, Dairygold and Arrabawn may buy from a producer group, but they can dump a producer( by dropping the price substantially). But if any of these co-ops take on suppliers directly they must keep collecting. Suppliers that switch will switch again if they feel hard done by and often these type find it easy to be hard done by. If any co-op starts collecting from suppliers by the co-op ethos and rules they must stay collecting. No co-op will take the risk of having to send trucks down around the Kerry area to collect partial loads.

The Kerry farmers in parts of Clare and Limerick have option but most Kerry farmers are stuck with KD whether they realise it or not

Well lets imagine Kerry loose a number of their bigger suppliers, what then? One option would be close Listowel plant. Would this be as bad as some would think. Less capital investment going forward. Concentrate on manufacturing the higher paying products. What is the old saying. Turnover is vanity profit is sanity. Could be very apt going forward.

Thanks a mil for reply. With the greatest respectto ghe biard they are a little irrelevantin the new business other than they should let the mgt run the business and stay away as much as possible.. the biard will need to kearn to do same as whe brosnan friel and cregan ran the show.. let them run it. If the board see themselves as the mgt then the new business will have a big problem as no one will know who is running the show.

On the financing side the assets of the current co op need to be shown and how these are being used in the new jv.. there is cash and plc shares that the co op own.. where is this being spent.

I struggle to understand though why the new business would keep b and c shareholders as the probability is this group of shareholders have little of any interest in remaining part of new jv and would happily take 6.25.. or even 5.9 and exit 100%

After meeting 2 guys up for election I would advise anyone vote against this. I missed a board member callung to house as he should know what is being offered. The good news for co op board is they have time now to get feedback and address.. if they chose to try bulldoze on they could become e the second board to lose a ballot