Australian dairy co-op Murray Goulburn has taken a majority stake in a new venture in Tasmania.
Murray Goulburn has decided to invest in Tasmanian Dairy Products, a business set up in July to make milk powder for international markets. The company did not disclose how much it had invested in the venture but it is reported to have put forward A$70m.
Go deeper with GlobalData
TDP will process milk at a new facility in Smithton in Tasmania, with production scheduled to start in the second half of next year. Other investors in the venture include “local and international investors and Tasmanian dairy farmers”, Murray Goulburn chairman Grant Davies said on Tuesday (6 September).
Murray Goulburn will market the products made at the new factory and Davies outlined the benefits the venture could provide to the co-op. He said the investment would give Murray Goulburn access to a region where milk supplies are growing and would provide the co-op access to ingredients to meet customer demand. He said there could also be “operational benefits via synergies” with the rest of Murray Goulburn’s business.
Davies added that Murray Goulburn had been looking for ways to expand in Tasmania since it acquired Classic Foods in 2007.
However, he said that Murray Goulburn wanted an investment that “maximised the opportunities for success”. He added: “We are confident that the TDP joint venture model can do this by attracting the support of local dairy farmers and the support of local and international investors.”
