SWS future hangs in balance after board meeting
Dairygold is open to a merger of IAWS Co-op with SWS but is also comfortable with Bandon-based SWS going it alone if that is what the other co-operatives want.
Getting its hands on cash is not a priority for Dairygold and it will go with whatever consensus emerges, a spokesman said.
Before a final decision is taken, the five stakeholders in SWS, Dairygold, Bandon, Drinagh, Barryroe and Lisavaird co-operatives will ask IAWS Co-op chairman Phillip Lynch to give a detailed outline of his future strategy.
And while the process is still ongoing the impression following the monthly board meeting is that a merger with IAWS Co-op looks to be the preferred option.
Mr Lynch’s track record is a key factor given his success with IAWS plc.
On Monday the issues were clarified as senior executives of the five co-ops met to thrash out issues surrounding SWS’s future.
However, suggestions that Dairygold was pushing to secure cash out of a sale to IAWS have been firmly denied by Dairygold.
Dairygold chief executive Jerry Henchy has an open mind on the future of SWS in which his group holds the dominant 55% equity stake.
It is understood the future direction of SWS, while important to him as the main shareholder, is not his major priority right now.
His appointment of the Dairygold chairman John Walsh and chief financial officer Peter O’Donoghue to the SWS board raised suspicions among SWS executives as to his intentions.
Mr Lynch is determined to accomplish a second coming through the merger of the co-op with IAWS which will then float on the Irish stock exchange.
Critics said it will be more difficult now for Mr Lynch to get a full listing with the NTR investment hanging over the possible IAWS/SWS merger. It could also delay any payback to the West Cork co-ops.
The deal is not imminent but it looks as if IAWS Co-op is closer to a second flotation with Mr Lynch at the helm once again.
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