Fonterra (ASX:FSF) confirms Global Dairy Trade deal with EEX & NZX

Highlights:

• Food and beverage firm, Fonterra enters into a Global Dairy Trade (GDT) strategic partnership with NZX and EEX.
• Reportedly, EEX, NZX and Fonterra each have 33.3% stake in the GDT.
• GDT is a global online market for dairy sector, earlier owned by Fonterra Cooperative group.

Dairy manufacturer, Fonterra Shareholders’ Fund (ASX:FSF), on Thursday, shared that it has entered into a strategic partnership with the European Energy Exchange (EEX) and New Zealand’s Exchange (NZX) to take an equal shareholding in Global Dairy Trade (GDT) alongside the Co-op.

Fonterra shares last traded at AU$2.80 apiece on the ASX. The shares have tumbled by 24.32% in a year and lost 21.57% on year-to-date basis. In five years, the share price dropped by 51.22%.

Everything you should know about the strategic partnership

In February 2022, Fonterra informed the market that GDT strategic partnership was subject to multiple approvals, transaction documentation finalisation, and a green signal from competition law authorities.

Today (30 June), the company confirmed that it has received all the required approvals. With this, Fonterra, EEX and NZX, each have 33.3% ownership in the GDT.

Management comments on GDT strategic partnership

Marc Rivers, CFO, Fonterra, said this strategic partnership is a crucial milestone for Fonterra and dairy participants across the globe. Rivers added that this change in the ownership structure is expected to bring more participation at the GDT events and ensure GDT presence in well-known global dairy-producing regions.

Eric Hansen, chief executive, GDT, commented on the development that regulated exchange would strengthen GDT’s role as a transparent, neutral and independent price discovery platform.

Image source: © Bizoon | Megapixl.com

Next step

Now, GDT will appoint a new board and plan strategic growth initiatives, like how to bring more sellers on the GDT platform and conduct auctions frequently.

About Global Dairy Trade (GDT)

GDT was established in 2008 to create a global online market for the diary. GDT has proven to the market that it offers credible reference prices for dairy ingredients. Through this platform, sellers get access to global buyers and get confidence that their product is selling for the existing market-based price. Similarly, buyers get access to a large number of suppliers and get confidence that they are not paying extra.

Global dairy update

Through a separate ASX-announcement, Fonterra shared a global dairy update today. The company highlighted that monthly production has declined across all regions. Monthly exports declined in New Zealand, the US and the EU. Australian region has reported a surge in monthly exports. Monthly imports were up for Asia and Middle East & Africa but down for China and Latin America.