A Kerry Co-op shareholder and milk supplier has welcomed the co-op's proposed acquisition of Kerry Group’s dairy business.
Kerry Group has announced it has agreed to sell Kerry Dairy Ireland for €500 million to the co-op with the co-op taking over 70% of the business by the end of January.
Patrick Scannell says the biggest winners in this could be workers at Kerry’s milk plant in Listowel.
He says this plant was going to be sold regardless of an overall dairy business deal with the co-op, and another buyer may have moved operations out of Listowel.
Dairy Chair in Kerry IFA, Owen O’Sullivan, says the farming body will hold meetings with farmers over the coming weeks on the proposed deal.
It will go before co-op shareholders at a special general meeting in December, and Mr O’Sullivan says Kerry IFA will have to listen to farmers and make sure it’s the best deal for them.
