By Philippa Stevenson
The Kiwi dairy company has given up its quixotic fight to merge with the South Island Dairy Company (Sidco) to concentrate on a more achievable target - a mega co-op.
Yesterday, the Commerce Commission said Kiwi had withdrawn its application for authorisation to acquire Sidco, which Kiwi pursued
even after the Sidco board had recommended a merger with New Zealand Dairy Group.
At the time, Kiwi was desperate to maintain its size against the heavyweight Dairy Group and sought the authorisation after the commission had denied it a straight clearance.
It was heartened when, in a draft determination, the commission said it could authorise the Kiwi/Sidco merger after finding the public benefits outweighed issues of dominance in the farm milk supply market.
But the same day that Dairy Group shareholders voted to merge with Sidco and form a company with 58 per cent of the country's milk supply, an out-gunned Kiwi did a u-turn and urged the industry to fast-track a virtual nationwide company, or mega co-op.
Yesterday, Kiwi chief executive Craig Norgate said the company conceded the Dairy Group/Sidco merger was a done deal.
He added: "Pursuing that line is not going to be fruitful. Things have moved on and our focus is now on the mega co-op," he said.
