Alliance Group Vote – Go With Dawn Meats, or not?

This week is crunch week for one of Southland’s biggest businesses.
Farmer shareholders of red meat processor The Alliance Group vote on whether the group accepts an offer from Irish-based meat processor Dawn Meats to take a 65% interest in the Invercargill-based co-operative.

Initially, Dawn Meats offered a $250 million cash injection as part of the deal but last week upped that to $270 million due to Alliance Group recording a better-than-expected end-of-year result. The 65% stake remains unchanged.

Alliance Group management has spent the last couple of weeks on the road, meeting shareholders face-to-face to get their views on the proposed deal.

A group of farmers opposed to the Dawn Meats proposal has come up with its own plan and proposal to keep Alliance Group in local hands.

Alliance Group chair Mark Wynne told RNZ, “The message to everyone is please consider the proposal and the alternative that you see fit, vote accordingly, but the main thing is please vote.”

He added that this is a once-in-a-generation choice for farmers.

The vote is crucial for the future of The Alliance Group, as $188 million in debt falls due in December.

A special general meeting will be held in Invercargill tomorrow, Monday the 20th, opening at 11am. Voting will close at 11:45am.
Elections NZ and KPMG will then count and verify the vote, with the result to be announced on Tuesday.