Kerry shares fall on planned appeal against Breeo ruling

KERRY GROUP’S share price took a hit late yesterday after the Competition Authority announced that it plans to appeal a High Court ruling allowing the Tralee-headquartered food business to take over rival Breeo.

The monopolies watchdog shot down the €165 million deal last August on the grounds that it would substantially lessen the competition in markets for consumer foods such as cooked meats and cheese.

The High Court overturned the authority’s ruling last month following an appeal by Kerry, and the deal went through at the reduced price of €140 million.

However, the Competition Authority yesterday said it intended appealing that ruling to the Supreme Court.

It can only appeal the judgement on a point of law.

The announcement meant that Kerry’s share price closed at €13.80, 10 cent off its opening quote of €13.90 in Dublin yesterday.

The stock had been trading strongly before the news, reaching a high of €14.24, before seeing a lot of activity around the €14.20 level.

Kerry Group, a world leader in food ingredients and a key player in consumer foods in the Irish market, bought Breeo from Cork-based Dairygold co-op offshoot Reox through a subsidiary Rye Investments.

Breeo’s brands include Dairygold, Galtee, Shaws, Roscrea, Mitchelstown and Calvita, while Kerry owns other well-known trade marks including Denny, Ballyfree, Clover, Low Low and Easi-Singles.

Overturning the authority’s finding last month, Mr Justice John Cooke found that it had made significant errors in its assessment of a number of the relevant markets.