Glanbia Co-op shareholders vote to cut food group stake by 10%

Ireland-based Glanbia Co-op Society’s shareholders have approved a proposal to reduce its holding in nutritional products and cheese company Glanbia to below 50% in the first of two votes that would increase the group’s free float significantly.

The holding will be reduced in the company from the current 51.4% to 41.4%.

Around 82% of the shareholders voted in favour of the proposal that was announced in August this year.

Another round of voting is, however, required for the proposal to take off; at least 75% of the members need to approve it in the second round, which will be held on 12 December.

Glanbia Co-op Society chairman Liam Herlihy said that the first voting is a strong endorsement of the board’s proposal.

Herlihy also noted that shareholders’ approval in the second round of voting will give the newly-established JV, Glanbia Ingredients Ireland (GII), a strong start and put cash into the society.

The 10% shareholding is worth approximately €230m, of which €157m will be distributed to co-op shareholders, while the rest will go into the dairy processing joint venture GII.

Glanbia Co-op Society farmer shareholders recently supported a move by the company to spin out its milk processing business into a joint venture that will be 60% owned by the co-op, as part of the move to boost dairy processing capacity once EU milk quotas are abolished in 2015.

As the joint venture between Glanbia and the society was completed on 25 November, the company now intends to focus more on its high-margin international cheese and nutritionals businesses.

Glanbia tried to demerge its milk processing arm from its nutritionals business in May 2010, but the plan failed to materialise.