MURRAY Goulburn spurned a proposal from Fonterra to form a super dairy co-operative in favour of a sale of its assets to Canadian rival Saputo.
Sources have told The Weekly Times Fonterra proposed combining its Australian assets with those of Murray Goulburn to form a super co-operative but the proposal was rejected by MG management as it was deemed to be a non-complying bid.
Fonterra managing director René Dedoncker confirmed his company put forward a proposal which included “retention of Murray Goulburn’s co-operative ethos”.
“Our proposal to the MG board was based on a merger that provided options for Australian farmers to retain ownership and get a strong farmer voice,” Mr Dedoncker said.
“Unfortunately, we were not given the opportunity to progress to due diligence on MG.”
Source: The Weekly Times
