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Murray Goulburn stays on the prowl
25 Mar 2003
Dairy co-operative Murray Goulburn is still on the look-out for a merger opportunity, after its planned takeover of Bonlac Foods was abandoned.
Stephen O'Rourke, Murray Goulburn's MD, could not rule out a future merger with Bonlac however, saying that consolidation in the dairy sector is important for the long-term benefit of farmers in the form of higher returns.
The Bonlac takeover was abandoned on March 21, with Murray Goulburn giving several reasons for the decision not to pursue a merger. Mr O'Rourke said the balance sheet of the combined entity would not be as strong as that of Murray Goulburn, and that the costs of the merger and time it would take to achieve savings were too high. It's about doing the best for our farmers, from our point of view, Mr O'Rourke stated.
He also said that no specific future takeover targets had been identified but that there were plenty of options with other dairy co-operatives.
The Age, 25/3/03.
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