A third suitor, a consortium of Parmalat and Murray Goulburn, has showed its hand in the jostling among bidders to acquire or merge with the large NSW based dairy co-operative, Dairy Farmers.
The consortium has asked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to indicate whether it has any concerns that would need to be overcome before it makes a bid for Dairy Farmers.
National Foods, owned by the Japanese company, Kirin, and the New Zealand co-operative Fonterra, have already made similar approaches to the ACCC.
Dairy Farmers has solicited bidders as part of its long stated aim of seeking outside investment, having prepared the ground by an aggressive rationalisation of manufacturing plants and brands.
* Extract from a full report to appearin The Land, NSW, Thursday, May 22 issue.