Concerns have been raised by members of Kerry Cooperative over an alleged increase in bidding for the purchase of Kerry Group’s milk processing division as part of a joint venture with the group.

A public meeting of Kerry Co-op shareholders was held last week, at which the issue was raised.

It is understood that bidding has now increased by some €15 million in the co-op’s latest negotiations with Kerry Group over a potential deal.

This has apparently increased from €810 million to €825 million, sources have confirmed. This is believed to have been done without approval from the co-op board.

Such a move is understood to have unsettled co-op members, with concerns that this is above what had been considered a “ceiling price”.

“it’s a non-binding bid – but it shouldn’t increase without the board’s approval,” one member said.

Another cause for concern voiced from grass-roots members is the recent apparent exclusion of former board members who had been appointed to act in a consultant-like capacity on the matter surrounding the leading milk price.

This relates to ongoing negotiations with Kerry Group following the findings of an arbitration case in the co-op’s favour in 2019 over a dispute between the group and the co-op over Kerry Group’s milk prices since 2015.

A meeting of the co-op’s leading milk price committee – which is looking after negotiations on behalf of the co-op – took place yesterday morning (Monday, March 22).

It is understood that four former members of Kerry Co-op board had been appointed to act as consultants due to their experience and involvement in the process from the beginning.

However, these former board members were not invited to yesterday’s meeting.