Shareholders of Murray Goulburn have voted in favour of a proposed $1.3 billion takeover by Canadian dairy giant Saputo.
The vote, which took place at an Extraordinry General Meeting in Melbourne on Thursday, saw nearly 96 per cent of the dairy co-operative’s shareholders support the sale.
Earlier this week, the ACCC said it would not oppose the acquisition, after accepting a court-enforceable undertaking from Saputo to divest Murray Goulburn’s Koroit plant.
The ACCC had raised concerns that Saputo owning the region’s two largest plants, both near Warrnambool, its current Allansford plant and Murray Goulburn’s Koroit plant, would have substantially lessened competition for the purchase of raw milk in the region, leading to farmers being paid less at least in the medium term.
In response to the ACCC’s concerns, Saputo offered an undertaking that it would divest the Koroit plant within a specified period to a buyer which will need to be approved by the ACCC.
“Saputo’s divestiture undertaking has remedied the ACCC’s competition concerns about the Koroit plant,” ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said.
“The undertaking creates an opportunity for a viable competing milk processor to enter or expand in the local region. When approving a new owner of Koroit, we will focus on its ability to be a strong and effective competitor for raw milk in the region.”
The deal now only requires approval by the Foreign Investment Review Board.