Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on May 2, 2025
(Reuters) -Australia's competition watchdog has begun an informal review of Lactalis’ proposed offer to buy New Zealand-based Fonterra’s businesses up for sale, even though the French dairy major is yet to make a formal announcement on the offer.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) review process comes after Reuters on Thursday reported that several firms - including Japan's Meiji and France's Lactalis - were exploring bidding for Fonterra's global consumer business, Fonterra Oceania and Fonterra Sri Lanka units.
Fonterra did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Lactalis and the ACCC declined to comment.
A deal for the businesses Fonterra is divesting could be valued at around NZ$4 billion ($2.37 billion).
Fonterra said in November it would either sell the units or list them through an initial public offering in a bid to focus more on its core operations of processing milk.
Fonterra Oceania and Fonterra Sri Lanka supply milk to be turned into dairy products.
The operations being considered for a possible divestment accounted for about 19% of Fonterra's operating earnings in the first half of fiscal 2024, it said in May 2024.
(Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
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