The board of Kerry Co-op had confirmed that it has appointed one of Ireland’s leading corporate law firms in a bid to advance arbitration in relation to the leading milk price issue.
In a statement, the co-op said that it has “engaged the legal firm RDJ LLP to assist it to expeditiously progress matters in relation to the arbitration process with Kerry Creameries Ltd.”.
RDJ LLP employs over 100 lawyers in offices in Dublin, Cork and Galway and advises multi-nationals as well as established and growing Irish companies, institutions and leading insurance firms.
Arbitration
Kerry Co-op said that the arbitration process, which has been ongoing for a number of years, involves the co-op “representing milk suppliers seeking the leading milk price for the arbitrative years in question”.
The board thanked Killarney-based law firm Terence F Casey & Co “for its support and efforts in relation to this matter to date”.
Agriland understands that the arbitration issue was also raised during the recent Kerry Co-op annual general meeting (AGM) where the co-op told shareholders that the money owed to suppliers was 7.39c/L, plus interest.
There have been repeated calls from milk suppliers for the arbitration matter to be resolved before any discussions on other matters are held with Kerry Group.
In its recently published annual report for 2023, the board of Kerry Co-op said that it is expecting to outline its proposals on a future strategy to shareholders later this year.
James Tangney, who was elected as chair of Kerry Co-op last December, said that the co-op, which was founded over 50 years ago, is now “at an inflection point”.
Tangney said that the board is “actively working on the development of strategic options for the future success of the society in the context of Kerry Group plc milk contract ending in April 2026”.
He stressed that “any fundamental decisions on future direction will be put to eligible shareholders in due course for their consideration and approval”.