It could get heated beforehand when the officials were relieved of the previous year. It gets really exciting on Tuesday morning with agenda item 7 of the General Assembly of Gmunden Dairy Cooperative in the Toscana Congress Center in the Traunseestadt: The farmers and thus the members of the cooperative vote on the merger with the private Bavarian dairy Jäger. The vote should go out with a large majority in favor of the merger. Last Thursday, the board of directors and the supervisory board of the cooperative and thus the 27 leading officials voted unanimously for the partner from Haag in Bavaria and propose a corresponding voting behavior.
Before that, the executive chairman Johannes drinking barrel present the solution presented as a negotiation success. Because the company valuation in advance resulted in a ratio of 40.15 to 59.85 percent in favor of Jäger. This means that any future profit distributions will be made in this ratio. Nevertheless, the share capital of the joint company – dem Dairy Plant Hunter – with 50 to 50 parity. This will result in a “joint venture on an equal footing”, according to the Gmundners.
Each side may have a managing director in the new operating company to be founded Gmundner Milch Limited Liability Company delegate – unless you agree on a common candidate. The cooperative may also send a managing director to the parent company, the Milchwerk Jäger, if the current managing director Hermann Jäger resigns. However, the 59-year-old says he wants to work for ten more years anyway.
Late turnaround
Drinking barrel speaks of a “very good offer”. As reported, the officials of Gmundner Milch were the first to come along at the beginning of the year Salzburg milk negotiated a merger. Jäger only came into play when there had already been a permit from the Federal Competition Authority for the deal with Salzburg. However, large milk suppliers had resisted, fearing for the future of the production site in Gmunden. The people of Salzburg have large processing capacities, including land reserves, and the impending closure of the Gmunden plant has changed the mood.
Trinkfass speaks of more added value and jobs that the merger with Jäger will bring to Upper Austria. In future, the milk from the 250 Upper Austrian suppliers who have been selling their milk to hunters for some time will be processed in Gmunden. This is intended to invalidate the argument of skeptics who warn of a sell-off to foreign countries.
For two years, the previous suppliers of Gmundner Milch will receive a lower minimum price for their product than previous Jäger suppliers. This has led to some resentment among the almost 2000 Gmundner milk farmers, but is accepted by the majority. Jäger argues that with the large investment needs that he has.
There was no economic pressure, especially from Raiffeisen, stressed Trinkfass and Norman Eichinger, who, as managing director of the Upper Austrian Raiffeisen Association, examines the Gmundner Milch balance sheets. Losses – as in the financial statements presented on Tuesday for the previous year – would have nibbled at the equity cushion over ten years from 74.5 million to 68.8 million. “With an equity share of 58 percent, however, the dairy is on a solid financial foundation,” says Eichinger. On average, the domestic dairies would only show 47 percent for this key figure.
Source: Nachrichten
