DEAR SIR: I am an ordinary shareholder in Kerry Cooperative Creameries Ltd and have been following with great interest ongoing media coverage on tax and strategic issues.

As a dairy farmer for over 60 years and a committed and active member of the co-op movement in that time, I am familiar with the board’s fiduciary responsibilities to all shareholders and the requirement that they act in the best interests of the co-op.

I wrote to you on this matter in October of last year when I expressed some concerns. More recent developments have motivated me again to request that the board clarify the following matters as a matter of urgency:

Can the board explain and justify their recent proposals regarding the disposal of shares and the business strategy and how they view these as fulfilling their core fiduciary responsibility to maximise value for all shareholders in the co-op?

What steps, if any, have the board taken to address the tax liability arising from the disposal of shares?

Have they costed and explored in detail the option of making the co-op a qualifying trading company (not necessarily in the agri or milk business)?

Given that the current valuation of the co-op’s plc shares is approximately €2.3bn, it seems to me that a rudimentary cost-benefit analysis should indicate the benefits of spending money in this endeavour.

This would allow shareholders to benefit from lower capital gains taxes rather than income tax on disposal.

I have followed with interest the recent developments in other organisations where there appears to have been a great divergence between the individual directors, the board’s activities and their obligations to the members.

I note that some of these organisations are now the subject of various investigations, including a number by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE).

Subject to the answers to the above queries, I wonder is this the route that Kerry Co-Op is going?

Once again, I pose the question – why have we abandoned the Kerry way?

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