Fonterra’s NZDF share goes to entrepreneur

New Zealand entrepreneur Graeme Hart is to purchase Fonterra’s controlling stake in New Zealand Dairy Foods.
Through his Rank Group private vehicle, Hart initially offered NZ$238 million (E118.8 million) for the 50% stake. He then raised his offer to E60.75, or E0.87 per share, following complaints from farmers’ collective Great Milk Company (GMC) that its E118.8 million bid had been rejected.
Many GMC members already own shares in NZDF and reports suggest they are likely to put their shares into a holding company or trust structure to have more power when dealing with Rank Group.
Fonterra was ordered to sell its 70 million NZDF shares as a condition of its formation from the merger of Kiwi Co-operative Dairies and New Zealand Dairy Board in 2001.
In a statement, Fonterra chief financial officer Graham Stuart said: “The offer is the best available following an exhaustive sales process that canvassed all potential international buyers.” Hart is New Zealand’s richest man and first billionaire. He made his money from investing in Australian ingredients firm Burns Philp.
In March, the New Zealand Commerce Commission blocked a bid from Australia’s National Foods or NZDF, claiming it would stifle competition in the yogurt and dairy dessert markets.