Irish company offers $250m for 65% stake in Alliance

Tuesday, 12 August 2025

Alliance Lorneville worker Amelia Beckham uses a MEQ probe meat quality assessment tool to analyse carcass fat content. (File photo)

After months of speculation, Alliance Group has officially shared a purchase offer with shareholders and staff.

Irish company Dawn Meats has made a $250 million bid for a 65% stake in the company, valuing Alliance at $502m on an enterprise basis.

The deal will now go to shareholders to vote on and will be subject to High Court and regulatory approval.

Alliance Group had been looking for outside investment as it sought to raise $200m in the wake of record losses and had already been taking capital raise deductions from shareholder suppliers.

In a statement on Tuesday, the group said proceeds from the sale to Dawn Meats would be used to reduce the group’s short-term working capital facility, accelerate the board’s strategic capital expenditure programme and enable the distribution of up to $40m to the co-operative, subject to shareholder livestock supply.

Chairman Mark Wynne addresses shareholders at Alliance’s annual general meeting at Croydon Lodge, Gore, in December. (File photo)

Alliance Group posted a loss of $95.8m after tax for the financial year ended in September 2024. That included the closure of its Smithfield plant at Timaru, which cost the co-operative more than $51m.

Chairman Mark Wynne said the announcement came after a two-year process to reset and recapitalise the business.

“Alliance was built by farmers for farmers and has a proud co-operative legacy,” he said.

“The process we have undertaken on behalf of our farmer-shareholders to meet our banks’ requirements means we are now a much fitter and stronger business. However, we need this investment to provide certainty and confidence and ultimately unlock more value for our farmers.”

Dawn Meats operated 11 Irish and 13 UK sites processing 3.5 million sheep and one million cattle annually.

According to its site, it exported to more than 50 countries and had 11 sites in Ireland, and was supplied by 40,000 farmers.

“With Dawn Meats’ balance sheet power, strength in beef and market access across the United Kingdom and Europe, and Alliance’s strength in lamb and market access across China, wider Asia and North America, there are significant commercial and operational synergies at stake – with potential for our shareholders to see the value of their residual 35% stake grow over the long term,” Wynne said.

Alliance Group has rolled out technology that uses AI to quickly assess the quality of lamb or beef carcasses. Group technical manager Gary Maclennan explains how the MEQ system works while Amelia Beckham demonstrates the process.

The transaction would be implemented via a Scheme of Arrangement and would require a minimum of 75% shareholder acceptance of those who vote, and greater than 50% of all shareholding voting yes at a special general meeting (or via proxy) to be held in Invercargill in mid-October.

If shareholders voted against the sale, the Alliance board would have to consider asset sales, site closures and further cost-reduction initiatives.

Dawn Meats Group chief executive Niall Browne said the deal would give the business the ability to create year-round supply for customers between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

“Our ‘can do’, keep-it-simple and common-sense culture aligns naturally with Alliance,” Browne said.

“The opportunity here is to create a dynamic industry competitor with a unique combination of customer relationships, resources, skills, routes to market and industry knowledge that will give us a powerful competitive edge, both locally and globally.”

Alliance would release a scheme booklet in mid-September with farmer road shows to follow from the end of the month.

Shareholders would vote in mid-October and if approved, regulatory approvals would be expected by December 2025.