Co-ops to plan for SWS future
It is understood that SWS’s board will also hold its monthly meeting on the same day, where important concerns such as future funding and corporate strategy will be discussed.
The chairman of the five co-ops are to meet separately but it is not known if they will be invited to present their views to the SWS board meeting on the day.
These meetings will be the first major review following the decision by IAWS Co-Op boss Philip Lynch to walk away from takeover talks for the waste management and wind energy parts of the SWS business. Up to e64 million had been tabled as an offer to the group for parts of its business that fitted with the IAWS Co-Op strategy of strong involvement in waste management and wind energy farms.
Mr Lynch, who is planning to float IAWS under its new name One51 in mid-2006, may have to revise his plans following the breakdown of the talks. He pulled out of due diligence he was conducting after Drinagh Co-Op decided not to back the sale at a meeting of the board last Wednesday.
It is understood deep divisions exist between the four West Cork co-ops over the future direction of the business. SWS management were also divided over the proposed sale to Lynch and in the end the plan to sell to IAWS fell apart.
Dairygold is committed to getting the group strategy right and it was a prime mover in getting IAWS involved in the takeover.
At this point management still own a 40% stake in SWS, which means in effect that Drinagh, Bandon, Lisavaird and Barryroe co-ops have relatively small stakes given that Dairygold holds just over half of the 60% not held by the SWS management.
Under the Lynch deal management’s stake would be cut to 25% for the purpose of the sale.
In a separate alternative eight point plan circulated to the four West Cork co-ops, it was proposed management would have its stake reduced to 10% if the co-ops accepted the plan.
