Bega Cheese buys Meander Valley and Betta brands from TasFoods

Bega Cheese has acquired the Meander Valley and Betta brands from TasFoods in a $11 million deal confirmed Monday.

Bega Cheese is on track to buy the Meander Valley and Betta Milk brands from TasFoods in an $11 million deal announced on Monday.

In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange, Bega confirmed it had entered into a binding business sale agreement to acquire the two Tasmanian brands.

The NSW-based processor also confirmed the acquisition included the perpetual, royalty-free use of the Pyengana milk and cream brand.

Bega Group chief executive Peter Findlay said the total purchase price was set at $11 million plus inventory.

“Betta Milk is a fantastic regional brand that has been a household name in Tasmania for over 65 years,” he said.

TasFoods will retain the land and buildings associated with Betta Milk at its Burnie site as well as the lease connected with Meander Valley Dairy at Launceston.

The transaction is subject to approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Back in 2019, Tasfoods boss Jane Bennett announced the acquisition of Betta Milk. Picture: Grant Wells

TasFoods chief executive Scott Hadley said the transaction would strengthen his company’s balance sheet.

“We are confident that the Betta Milk and Meander Valley dairy business, its customers and its employees, will continue to thrive under the custodianship on an equally proud, Australian-owned group in Bega,” he said.

TasFoods acquired the Betta Milk brand in 2019 and the Meander Valley brand four years earlier in 2015.

Last week, Bega Cheese recorded a $233.7 million statutory loss for the 2022-23 financial year, in the wake of a 30 per cent slump in global dairy commodity prices.

In its annual report, the company announced a $276 million impairment, predominantly due to a decline in the value and earnings capacity of its bulk dairy processing plants at Koroit, Tatura and Bega.