Kerry Group has confirmed that phase one of the sale of Kerry Dairy Ireland to Kerry Co-op is completed.
Last month Kerry Group shareholders voted in favour of selling the company’s dairy division, Kerry Dairy Ireland, to Kerry Co-op for €500 million.
Under the terms of the sale Kerry Co-op will initially take a 70% stake in Kerry Dairy Ireland (€350 million), with Kerry Group retaining a 30% interest.
The remaining portion of Kerry Dairy Ireland will have to be transferred to Kerry Co-op by 2035.
Kerry Group will be entitled to a fixed dividend of €7.5 million per annum during the period of the joint ownership.
Kerry Group, which is listed on the Dublin and London Stock Exchanges, today (Thursday, January 2) issued a statement outlining that phase one of the sale of Kerry Dairy Ireland was completed on December 31, 2024.
Kerry Group
Kerry Group today confirmed that on December 31, 2024, it redeemed and cancelled the Co-op’s entire shareholding of 19,045,396 ordinary shares and issued a total of 16,187,024 new ordinary shares to the Co-op members and “to satisfy fractional share entitlements”.
As a result the group’s issued share capital reduced by 2,858,372 shares, to a total of 166,440,652 ordinary shares as at December 31, 2024.
Therefore the total number of voting rights is 166,440,652 according to Kerry Group.
Edmond Scanlon, chief executive officer of the listed group, said: “Today marks a significant step in Kerry’s history, becoming a pure play global business to business taste and nutrition company, with sustainable nutrition at its core, while also supporting our financial objectives of continued market outperformance, strong margin progression, and delivering greater returns for our shareholders.
“I would like to recognise the Kerry Dairy Ireland employees for their contribution to Kerry over the years and wish them the very best in the future.”
Kerry Dairy Ireland
Kerry Dairy Ireland processes over 1.1 billion litres of milk annually from 2,740 family farms across Munster.
It has seven production facilities across Ireland and the UK and has a range of well-known consumer brands such as Cheestrings, EasiSingles, LowLow, Dairygold spread and Charleville.
The business, which has a forecasted revenue of €1.3 billion for 2024, employs over 1,500 people and operates 31 agri-services stores across Kerry, Limerick, Clare and north Cork.
All Kerry Dairy Ireland staff, including the current management team lead by chief executive Pat Murphy, will remain in place.