Glanbia Co-op will hold a Special General Meeting (SGM) of its eligible members on Friday 17 December 2021 to vote on its proposal to take full ownership of Glanbia Ireland (GI).

The co-op proposes to pay €307m to buy out 40% interest in Glanbia Ireland, which currently operates as a strategic joint venture, 60% owned by Glanbia Co-op and 40% owned by Glanbia plc.

The SGM and voting are to be online at 2pm on 17 December

John Murphy, Co-op chair, said: “In light of the current public health advice and the fact that we have over 7,000 shareholders eligible to vote, our Board has decided that the SGM should be held in an online format.

“We are working closely with a proven technology provider to host the meeting that has successfully completed formal meetings for other Irish Co-ops. Our Members can be assured that we will support them in participating in this important meeting.

“Since these proposals were announced on 10 November, we have consulted with our representative structure and received positive feedback. These proposals are driven by our ambition to pay the best possible price for milk and grain to our farmer Members.

“The Board believes that now is the right time to take this step to create a well-invested, independent and future-focused Co-op. We are asking our Members to register by close of business on 14 December and vote in favour of these proposals at our SGM on 17 December.”

Funding

Murphy added: “It is important to clarify to our members that the Co-op is in the position of being able to fund this proposed transaction, if required, through a combination of existing cash resources and debt facilities. Therefore, the funding to complete this proposed transaction is not contingent on the sale of Glanbia plc shares owned by Glanbia Co-op.”

Investment Fund

"The Co-op is the largest shareholder in Glanbia plc and is very supportive of its growth ambitions. In relation to our proposed Investment Fund, it is important to confirm to our Members that there are no current proposals to deploy the Investment Fund,” Murphy said.

“The Co-op Board has no current intention to sell Glanbia plc shares and will not do so until such time as it has identified suitable investment opportunities capable of exceeding appropriate investment criteria.

“Our shareholding will continue to earn dividends from Glanbia plc in the interim. At the appropriate time in the future after the closing of the proposed transaction, we will formalise our investment strategy and identify a pipeline of opportunities that fit our strategy. Any proposed future investment projects will be subject to rigorous scrutiny and commercial appraisal.”

Glanbia plc shares

Glanbia Co-op proposes to transfer, via share spin-out, 12 million Glanbia plc shares to all existing members of the Society.

Based on Glanbia plc’s closing share price of €11.90 on Friday 26 November 2021, this would be worth approximately €143m, by summer 2022 at the earliest.

Murphy said: “We believe that it is appropriate at this time to release some of the value created by our investment to our 11,200 shareholders. Experience of previous spin-outs suggests that the vast majority of Co-op Members retain their plc shares, remaining long term supporters of Glanbia plc.”