Glanbia Co-op accused of misleading members

The milk producers seeking to take Glanbia private have accused Glanbia Co-op of misleading its members on the issue.

Fresh Milk Producers (FMP) has described a letter issued by Glanbia Co-op, which owns almost 55 per cent of Glanbia, as "unbalanced and misleading".

The group said the letter does not properly reflect its position and does not set out the facts as presented to the co-op board at the end of last month.

The letter, which was sent to members last week, outlines the co-op board's reasons for rejecting the FMP proposal.

It says the amount of borrowing that would be required to facilitate the delisting of the firm would freeze innovation and cause all corporate activity to cease.

It would also, according to the board, put an end to dividend payments and make debt repayment more important than everything else at the company, "including milk price".

The FMP proposal is based on returning "a milk price in line with the best of Europe" and on maximising the return for farmers from milk production.

The group's chairman, Mr Eamonn Bray, said yesterday that farmers could see "an inherent conflict of interest between the plc, which must reward outside investors, and a pure co-op, which can always put the interests of farmers first".