The board of dairy co-op Tírlan has been urged to seek expert advice on how it should dispose of its stake in Glanbia plc.
The group, which owns the Avonmore and Kilmeaden brands, has lost up to €500 million on the value of its holding amid a slump in Glanbia’s share price.
It is currently in the process of spinning out 15 million Glanbia shares to members but at a greatly reduced value, an issue that has created tensions within the group.
At a heated AGM this month, Tírlan shareholders repeatedly asked the board if it had sought outside advice on how best to divest of its holding in the Kilkenny-based nutritionals group, and what – as Glanbia’s largest shareholder – it planned to do about the PLC’s recent underperformance.
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Glanbia shares have slumped in recent months on the back of a profit warning and questions about the strategic direction of the company.
Activist investor Clearway Capital, which has a 1 per cent stake in Glanbia, has called for a strategic review of the company, with the goal of splitting it up, and has attempted to enlist support from Tírlan.
“The time has come to conduct a formal, board-led strategic review focused specifically on separating the businesses from one another,” Clearway‘s founder and chief executive Gianluca Ferrari said in a recent letter to Tírlan.
A separation could be achieved through various means, including sales of its US dairy and global ingredients assets, or a spin-off its biggest division, Glanbia Performance Nutrition (GPN), which sells protein powders and shakes to gym-goers and dieters, to existing shareholders and a listing on a US exchange, he said.
At Glanbia’s AGM last month, Mr Ferrari said the “sprawling corporate structure” was undervaluing the business and amplifying shocks.
At the Tírlan AGM, one shareholder asked why it took an investor with barely 1 per cent of shares to raise questions about Glanbia’s operation.
In response to queries from The Irish Times, Tírlan, formerly Glanbia Ireland, declined to comment.
Glanbia has linked its poor share performance and recent profit warning to a sudden and unexpected jump in the price of whey protein, its main input.
The company has also signalled it planned to offload its ailing SlimFast brand, acquired in 2018 for $350 million, following a fall-off in sales.
Chief executive Hugh McGuire insisted last month that 2024 was a strong year for the group but it had been hit by two notable headwinds: the high-than-expected price of whey protein and, more recently, US tariffs which he described as a “massive distraction for the business”.
