Australian dairy company Dairy Farmers has reportedly decided to sell out to Japanese brewer Kirin Holdings.
Kirin’s Australian unit, National Foods, was set to buy Dairy Farmers for close to $900 million, The Australian Financial Review newspaper said in an unsourced report today.
A Dairy Farmers spokesman refused to confirm or deny the report. “The board confirms that the process of assessing available liquidity options on behalf of shareholders is nearing its conclusion and will make an announcement once it has been completed,” he said.
Other bidders had included Australian farming cooperative Murray Goulburn and Canadian dairy firm Saputo. Three other firms quit the bidding: New Zealand cooperative Fonterra, Italy’s Parmalat and Singapore’s Olam.