With a week to go to the Glanbia co-op vote, the focus is on getting a big turnout at Punchestown Racecourse on 18 May.

The spell of good weather means farmers are all busy, and the fear is they will leave it to each other to turn up and vote on the proposal to buy 60% of the agribusiness and consumer foods businesses.

Glanbia Co-op is proposing to pay €112m to acquire a 60% shareholding in the plc’s Dairy Ireland division, which consists of Glanbia Consumer Products and Glanbia Agribusiness.

The last of the regional meetings for co-op shareholders took place on Tuesday, with good turnouts but few fireworks.

The most contentious meetings took place in Carlow and Dungarvan, with dry shareholders – particularly some retired farmers – unhappy that the main beneficiaries of the proposals will be active farmers, especially dairy farmers.

Some want a full dispersal of the co-op’s wealth to its shareholding.

Listen to "Glanbia's proposal to shareholders" on Spreaker.

Others want equal treatment for all shareholders, saying co-op support for active producers and purchase of relatively low-value wings of the Glanbia operation are not to their benefit.

Glanbia chief executive Siobhán Talbot was unrepentant on this score, stating that the co-op’s strategy, which “has been clear for a number of years now”, was to grow the value of the co-op, and to share out the value among the shareholders.

Co-op strategy

The co-op’s strategy is to support its investment in the plc and in the joint venture it shares with the plc in Glanbia Ingredients Ireland. The proposed €100m spin-out for all co-op shareholders will be the third such in five years – worth a cumulative €700m at Wednesday’s share price.

Advocates for the proposal say that taking control of the agri-business will encourage farmers to support their local co-op store, but its current operations have come under fire at meetings.

“Farmers will always shop with their feet. They’ll decide if they are getting good value from Glanbia,” said dairy farmer Nicholas Roberts from Old Ross, Wexford. “They need to keep the patronage scheme, but sometimes on inputs they are left wanting.”

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