Glanbia co-op shareholders vote in favour of joint venture

Joint venture with Glanbia plc’s dairy division will establish Glanbia Ireland

The Glanbia co-op special general meeting at the Punchestown Event Centre where shareholders voted in favour of a joint venture with Glanbia plc. Photograph: Dylan Vaughan
The Glanbia co-op special general meeting at the Punchestown Event Centre where shareholders voted in favour of a joint venture with Glanbia plc. Photograph: Dylan Vaughan

Glanbia co-operative society's shareholders have voted in favour of the proposal to establish a joint venture to be known as Glanbia Ireland.

At a special general meeting held on Thursday, 93.1 per cent of shareholders voted for the proposal which was originally announced in February. The joint venture involves Glanbia co-op paying €112 million to acquire a 60 per cent stake in Glanbia plc’s dairy Ireland division.

The creation of Glanbia Ireland is now subject to an approval vote by Glanbia plc’s independent shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting that takes place on May 22nd.

Transaction

In the event that the independent shareholders of Glanbia do approve the transaction, Glanbia co-op will fund the acquisition of the 60 per cent of dairy Ireland and part fund the €40 million member support through the sale of roughly 8.9 million shares in Glanbia plc.

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"I'm delighted that Glanbia members have voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking a majority stake in Glanbia's consumer and agri businesses. It's an historic day for our co-op and the proposed formation of Glanbia Ireland is an exciting development for Glanbia farmers", said Henry Corbally, chairman of Glanbia co-op.

“We’re all proud of what Glanbia has achieved in recent years and the decisions taken today will ensure that the co-op is in a very strong position to face the future with confidence”, he added.

Peter Hamilton

Peter Hamilton

Peter Hamilton is a contributor to The Irish Times specialising in business