Glanbia co-op has completed a 3% placing in Glanbia Plc.

After an anxious wait there was jubilation when the chairman of Glanbia, Liam Herlihy, announced that 83% of shareholders in Glanbia Co-op had voted to ratify their earlier decision to dispose of 10% of its holding in Glanbia plc.

Shareholders in Glanbia Co-op opted for a new era in milk processing when they voted by 70.8% to 29.2% in favour of creating a joint venture dairy operations with Glanbia PLC which will see individual co-op members get their hands on a share-out of €160m on PLC shares.

Members of Glanbia Co-op are already starting to focus on how they will manage their evolved milk processing responsibilities after their massive vote in favour of the Plc’s joint venture proposal.

Milk industry and farmer groups have voiced strong support for Glanbia’s joint venture proposal, which would give Glanbia Co-op shareholders majority ownership of future milk processing.

Two years ago, Glanbia plc attempted to offload its dairy-processing assets to Glanbia Co-op.

The economy will get an annual €510m boost as Glanbia and its milk suppliers ramp-up investment and production by 2020 following the elimination of milk quotas in 2015.

Members of Glanbia Co-op are debating the pros and cons of a joint venture proposal which could see them acquire a 60% stake in Dairy Ingredients Ireland, the Glanbia group’s Irish dairy processing business.

A proposal to spin off the company’s domestic dairy operation is likely to get the green light, which should facilitate the expansion of the processing sector in Ireland in advance of EU milk quota abolition in 2015, reports Kyran Fitzgerald

FOOD group Glanbia cites strong growth in its global nutritionals unit and a return to profitability in the Irish dairy ingredients sector as key factors in its turnaround of fortunes over the past 12 months.

A PROPOSED €343m buyout of the Irish interests of Glanbia plc, its largest shareholder, by Glanbia Co-operative Society was narrowly rejected at a special general meeting yesterday.

GLANBIA Plc shares fell 5% yesterday after a poll indicated the proposed sale of its Irish dairy business to Glanbia Co-op may not have majority support from farmers.

GLANBIA Plc chairman Liam Herlihy said there is “no plan B, nor can there be” regarding the sale of its Irish dairy business to Glanbia Co-op which controls over 54% of the public company.

GLANBIA co-op members have been urged to engage fully in the decision-making process on the society’s buy-out offer for Glanbia’s plc’s Irish dairy and agri business.

THE proposal by Glanbia Co-op to purchase the Irish business of Glanbia plc will be discussed by the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) at a meeting in Kilkenny on Monday night.

CONFLICT in Glanbia may continue, despite the plc’s announcement of a €22m April milk price increase, and Glanbia Co-op announcing a three year, €41 million package of member benefits.