Kerry Co Op Shares

I completely agree with you—management needs to be given the freedom to run things their way. Otherwise, we’d be looking at a whole heap of trouble! 😂😂

On the financing side, there was some literature sent out about it. I’d be happy to email it to you if you’d like.

The B and C shares situation is a bit tricky. A shareholders only hold roughly 25% of the co-op’s shares. If the B and C shareholders were to take a 100% spin-out at 5.9 or 6.12, the resulting ratio for A shareholders would drop to less than 4—which wouldn’t pass a vote.

Long-term, the plan is for B and C shareholders to have the option to cash out their shareholdings. Hopefully, this will allow those who want to exit to get their fair proceeds in due course.

That said, I think the penny is starting to drop that communication with shareholders hasn’t been up to scratch. If they want to secure the votes at the SGM, they’ll need to step things up—I’d expect to see a shake-up soon.

Does anybody know what happens if this deal is rejected.

Thanks a mil. I have the booklet unlocking the value and securing our future or is there other info out there. The booklet is weak to be polite as does not really walk through the questions on what happens to the current assets ie bank account and plc shares owned by the co op.. as it's looking these will be swallowed up. I will join one of the meetings and ask. Unless there is clarity we could see this fail at vote and the board will have to take responsibility

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It’s a shame that a thread meant for debating the JV has instead devolved into a guessing game about who this account belongs to.

If any of you were more observant, you might have picked up on the differences in language and grammar with this account compared to who you think is behind it. But let’s be honest—you could guess until next Christmas, and you’d still be wrong.

That said, let’s address what’s really crossed the line here. Yesterday, Jaymla627 decided to claim that the person you all think owns this account has bipolar disorder—a serious mental health condition. Today, he went a step further and named them directly. Making such a defamatory statement about someone is completely unacceptable, not to mention reckless.

The emails are already flying, Jaymla627—you’ve really landed yourself in it this time 🤦‍♂️🤣.

Now, to respond to Ginger22: If the JV is rejected, it’s hard to say for sure what will happen. You’d imagine they might push for another vote, but this process has been dragging on since early 2020. They could very well decide they’ve put enough time and effort into it and move on.

As for Castlekeeper: I’d still expect this to go through, but the way they’re going about winning people over is nothing short of a hatchet job so far. 😂

I wonder if the businesses weren't named Kerry this and that would there be so much emotion and identity tied up on it?

Its time to let it go, but if there is another entity, it definitely should have a new neutral name.

Isn't it called Kerry dairy Ireland …would not Kerry coop be more appropriate when approved

tirlan , Dairygold , arrabawn , Lakeland .

And most of the milk comes from Limerick.

If a full liquidation was offered it would easily pass. Locking in the Band C into a company that there is no exit for them is bit like taking their money and even if they beg they won't get it back.. also for milk suppliers having all these shareholders on the books don't add any value either..

The board would be well advised to be transparent in meetings on how financed and how exit.. as there are folks whomay be better off with redemption over timr that this offer

Let’s Deal with Some Hard Realities Here

It’s genuinely baffling how some contributors to this thread cannot grasp certain fundamental facts. Let’s address the first: for a liquidation to happen, 75% of A shareholders must vote in favor. That is never going to happen. No way. Not a chance. Anyone entertaining the possibility is living in a complete dreamworld.

Next, let’s talk about the participation exemption, which is the real elephant in the room. When Kerry Co-op’s holding in Kerry Group drops to 5%, the co-op will no longer qualify for the participation exemption. At that point, if the co-op were to do anything with the Kerry Group shares it owns, it would trigger a 33% capital gains tax (CGT) liability. And let’s not forget that shareholders would still face income tax on the cash-for-shares scheme or CGT on the grey market.

The spin-out of 85%—which is currently on the table—is the only viable solution to the participation exemption issue. Yes, liquidation would solve it too, but as I’ve already explained, liquidation will never get the level of support required. It’s simply not going to happen.

I have to give credit to Castlekeeper for pointing out the cozy arrangement at play here. He’s absolutely right. Some posters are kidding themselves if they think co-ops are going to take on individuals leaving Kerry’s milk pool. That’s not going to happen. Ireland is a small country for business, and no one is going to rock the boat with the largest food company in Ireland over a few individuals with an ax to grind.

Finally, it’s becoming tiresome to see how many people here are incapable of entertaining facts that don’t align with their own agenda. There’s so much hysteria and unrealistic thinking in this thread. The reality is, this deal—or something very close to it—is going to happen. The numbers and the circumstances point in one direction only.

We can’t keep going around in circles explaining the same facts every single day. Some of you need to take a step back and realize that no one is coming to take the farms off any of us. This isn’t some existential calamity. It’s a business decision, one that’s based on addressing a very real tax issue and safeguarding the future of the co-op. Time to get real, lads.

It'll be passed alright ... I'll vote for it as 8 years is long enough being on here arguing about it.

Yes ALPS all costs are calculated at averaged costs. However no co-op will take on new suppliers outside there area without accessing the long term benefits and risk to there business.

I be flabbergasted if at present any co-op traveled significantly outside its catchment area to recruit new suppliers. Arrabawn, DG and Tirlan all border each other.

Not only that no co-op will risk being under pressure 10+ years down the line of putting themselves in a position where if KD fail they will need to collect milk all over the Kerry catchment area.

As for producer groups no Co-op will pay producer groups more than there own supplier…actually they will be aiming to pay them 1-2c/L less than they pay there own. No co-op members would stand for it. If KD goes ahead would you be happy with KD paying 1-2 c/ L more to a producer group or having you milk price negativity effected by them collecting milk for other supplier not co-op members.

No but if depreciation exists capital expenditure is already paid for it a positive from a taxation point of view.

That Is what a lot A,B and C shareholders would want to ask themselves. Too many are looking for an ideal solution that is applicable to them. Kerry want out but if this falls through I can see them looking at other options

Bellview Are you a C shareholder. C share holders have no vote and no say. The last deal proposed a few years ago was significantly worse for C shareholders. This is probably as good as it gets.

Arrabawn unlikely as they have the Tipp amalgamation in progess. However I imagine a joint venture between DG and Tirlan which could be set up as a separate venture. You would not be co-op members they could decide to process it at there own plants. However they could pay a couple cent/litre less than there own co-op price as you would not be members of either co-op. It would present poaching between themselves as well and end producer groups as well

I am not sure if you understand the co-op structure. C shareholders have no vote or say in the outcome. In the case of a liquidation 75% of A shareholders have to approve the liquidation. There is a substantial number that have no co-op shares and will not vote for a liquidation. Actually many of them think the C shareholders should be bought out for a pound per co-op share. That is not going to happen either but there is a significant number of them that want a greater finiancial input by the coop in the purchase of Kerry Dairies.

To put it bluntly KC that is it in a nutshell. No co-op is interested in a price war or having producer groups supplying them. They might want Kerrys milk pool but they do not want to create a monster they have to deal with in the process.

Would Lee Strand be interested/an option for North, West and South Kerry farmers? Cork and Limerick farmers as well as East Kerry farmers have more options.

Bass Reeves has articulated some truly cogent arguments, and I must echo his sentiments.

For nearly a decade, shareholders and milk suppliers have been locked in a protracted struggle with both the co-op and the PLC. This Joint Venture agreement and share spin-out represents nothing short of our Good Friday Agreement—a once-in-a-generation opportunity to resolve a drawn-out and fractious conflict.

Bass astutely highlighted that too many people are demanding a deal that’s tailored exclusively to their own preferences. The reality is no proposal, regardless of how meticulously crafted, will ever satisfy every individual stakeholder. And let me address the criticism of so-called “big shareholders.” I happen to know of one individual who is forgoing €1 million to contribute toward this JV—and he’s doing so without complaint. This same individual will still have to pay the exact same milk contribution as everyone else. If he were to adopt the glass-half-empty mentality that’s so prevalent here, we’d be forwarding him the number for the Samaritans. Yet he remains committed to progress—what does that say about some of the rest of us?

Regarding the producer group—let’s not delude ourselves. Nobody, and I mean nobody, will touch them with a 50-foot pole. Personally, I have no issue with individuals choosing to leave the co-op, but let’s be crystal clear: if you walk away, don’t expect to come crawling back when those of us who stayed behind have worked to ensure its success.

On the subject of arbitration, let’s address the facts pragmatically. For the average milk supplier, it’s entirely irrational to reject 5.4c/L in pursuit of an additional 1.6c/L. The vast majority of suppliers don’t produce the volume of milk required to justify the monumental risks associated with potentially losing arbitration. Even in the unlikely event of arbitration resulting in a marginal increase, ask yourself—is it truly worth the protracted aggravation, uncertainty, and delay? Imagine standing up at the SGM and declaring, “I’ve 4 or 5 million litres of milk, and an extra 1.6c would equate to nearly €100,000 for me—so I think we should all take the gamble and go back to arbitration.” You’d be met with derision, and rightly so.

As a young farmer still laboring on my family’s farm, it’s deeply disheartening to see people so eager to squander the future of our co-op. I don’t claim to be the most academic individual—I’m not—but it’s evident that some of the criticism being leveled here stems from a lack of understanding. And I say this without malice: there are contributors who likely didn’t finish their Leaving Cert, and because they don’t grasp the complexities of a multi-billion-euro transaction, they’ve decided it’s destined to fail.

But let me offer an analogy. I don’t fully comprehend the mechanics of an airplane, but when I’m seated on one waiting for takeoff, I’m not about to stride down the aisle and announce to the cabin that I think the plane will plummet from the sky. This situation is no different. If you lack the requisite expertise to dissect the intricacies of this deal, perhaps it’s time to temper the doom-and-gloom rhetoric and focus on the overarching benefits instead of fearmongering.

This is a pivotal moment. Let’s not squander it.