Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Factory and National Foods have completed agreements to form a joint venture, Australian Cheese Company Pty Ltd (ACC), to operate the cheese business of Australian Co-operative Foods Limited (Dairy Farmers). ACC will be owned 50:50 by NF and WCB, and will own and operate the retail cheese assets of Dairy Farmers - which were acquired for $910m by National Foods in November 2008. WCB will contribute $105 million for its share in ACC. Neil Kearney, CEO and Managing Director... ...Read more »

The takeover of Dairy Farmers by Kirin subsidiary National Foods was officially completed on Tuesday, with the cheese joint venture between National Foods and Warrnambool Cheese and Butter (WCB) expected to begin operation early next year. Dairy Farmers Chairman Ian Langdon, who along with other directors will resign from the Dairy Farmers Board today, said the $910m acquisition of the business by National Foods stood to have a positive impact on Dairy Farmers’ shareholders as well as the... ...Read more »

Australian dairy Co-operative Dairy Farmers has been awarded with the world’s best dairy innovation at the 2008 International Dairy Federation (IDF) Marketing Awards for their Thick & Creamy yoghurt .Held in Mexico at the World Dairy Summit last week, the 2008 IDF Marketing Awards received 24 entries from 10 leading dairy companies world-wide. Dairy Farmers General Manager for Marketing & Innovation John Wardley, said the Co-operative had won the prestigious innovation award based on... ...Read more »

The purchase of Dairy Farmers by National Foods will be implemented next week after receiving court approval today… Australian Co-operative Foods Limited (ACF), which trades as Dairy Farmers, today announced that the National Foods offer to acquire all of the shares in the Co-operative had been approved by the New South Wales Supreme Court. National Foods won shareholder approval last week for their $910 million proposal. ACF Chairman Ian Langdon said the court’s approval of the scheme... ...Read more »

Australian Co-operative Foods Limited (ACF), which trades as Dairy Farmers, and National Foods today announced that ACF members had approved the acquisition proposal by National Foods. On August 25 Dairy Farmers announced that National Foods had outbid other interested parties, with their $910 million offer. The deal involved a joint venture with Warrnambool Cheese and Butter for the cheese business of Dairy Farmers. National Foods have also since come to an arrangement to allow Fonterra to acquire... ...Read more »

This week, Coon, the iconic Australian Cheddar cheese block, launched new resealable packaging, representing a market first for the popular everyday cheese block segment. The innovation is designed to provide consumers with the functional benefits of convenience and more effective storage. The unique double rail reseal zip helps to stop the cheese from drying out and in doing so, offers consumers a superior storage solution compared to what is currently available now for the cheese block, according... ...Read more »

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has granted final authorisation for the continuation of milk pricing and milk purchasing policies between Dairy Farmers Milk Co-operative (DFMC) Limited and Australian Cooperative Food Limited (ACF) following the sale of ACF to National Foods. DFMC acquires raw milk from its farmer members and sells this milk to ACF for processing into dairy products. National Foods proposed a $910m takeover of ACF in August, which received the approval of both... ...Read more »

Australian Co-operative Foods Limited (ACF), which trades as Dairy Farmers, has announced that an independent expert has determined the National Foods proposal to acquire the Co-operative to be in the best interests of its members in the absence of a superior proposal. National Foods won the race for the Australian dairy co-operative (pending a shareholder vote) with a $910 million offer in August. ACF Chairman Ian Langdon said that the National Foods proposal - which would deliver members $5.65... ...Read more »

National Foods and Fonterra yesterday announced they had entered into an agreement which would allow Fonterra to acquire the SKI yoghurt licence and associated intellectual property if National Foods’ proposed takeover of Dairy Farmers is approved. National Foods, owned by Japanese-based Kirin Holdings, made an offer to purchase Dairy Farmers for $910 million which was unanimously recommended by the Dairy Farmers Board in late August. Shareholders in the Australian dairy co-operative have until... ...Read more »

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is proposing to authorise, for five years, milk pricing and milk purchasing policies between DFMC (Dairy Farmers Milk Co-Operative) and ACF (Australian Co-Operative Foods) to enable their continuation following the sale of ACF to National Foods*.DFMC acquires raw milk from its farmer members and sells this milk to ACF for processing into dairy products. Agreements in place between ACF and DFMC require DFMC to adopt the same price and purchasing arrangements... ...Read more »