Came across something interesting the other day in relation to...

Came across something interesting the other day in relation to the Dairyworks sale. Apparently they were fairly close to a deal but the buyer was thwarted 'by regulations in their home country'. From BusinessDesk NZ about 6 weeks ago:

Synlait said on Tuesday it was close to selling its Dairyworks cheese business at the end of March, but regulatory issues in the potential purchaser’s home market kiboshed the deal.

It said it couldn’t be specific about the buyer for confidentiality reasons, but the nixed sale wasn’t related to NZ regulations or the quality of the business.

Synlait told analysts there were two interested parties still in the hunt for the cheese business.

Forsyth Barr analyst Matt Montgomerie said the Dairyworks update was “slightly rosier” than expected despite Synlait writing down the business by more than $30m to bring the value into line with non-binding bids.

Montgomerie said it left Dairyworks with a value of about $120m, which was higher than expected.

Who might want the Dairyworks business was still an open question, but Synlait's explanation that it wasn’t NZ regulations that thwarted a buyer pointed to a foreign company.

Dairy analyst Stu Davison said in 2023 that Australian firm Bega Cheese or Saputo Dairy Australia could be potential owners, and Meadow Fresh owner Goodman Fielder was also rumoured to be in the mix.

Whitestone Cheese managing director Simon Berry laughed off suggestions his firm was interested in the Dairyworks operations.

BusinessDesk had not received comment from any other potential purchaser at the time of publication.