€700m Kerry dairy deal ‘fell through over funding concerns’

Kerry Co-op boss said its offer for Kerry Group’s dairy business was rejected for being too low

Thomas Hunter McGowan, the Kerry Co-op chief executive, told a meeting of the company’s board that the talks had failed because the co-op’s offer was too low

Negotiations on a potential €700 million deal between Kerry Group and Kerry Co-op, the farmer-controlled investment company, fell apart last week, amid concerns that the co-op did not have sufficient detail on how it was going to fund the transaction, sources have told the Business Post.

Kerry Co-op had been in negotiations with Kerry Group on a deal for its dairy processing business for over a year before talks were suspended last week.

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