Creditors of the Launceston yoghurt company, Tamar Valley Dairy, have voted to liquidate the business.
The Tasmanian family-owned milk processor went into voluntary administration on September 24, owing approximately $12 million.
The factory and other assets were sold last month to the New Zealand dairy company, Fonterra, for an undisclosed price.
At the second meeting of creditors this week, the administrator, Tim Norman from Deloitte, said there was a clear vote to wind up the business as soon as possible.
He says the banks have been paid in full and about 50 unsecured creditors can expect to receive a dividend of between 30 and 50 cents for every dollar they’re owed.
«The secured creditors and the unsecured lenders are now in a position where the secured lenders have been payed out in full,» he said.
«The unsecured lenders are in a position now where they are issuing me with their final positions, so I can remit a dividend to them in the first quarter of next year.»
Mr Norman says rapid growth and limited capital are the main reasons the Tamar Valley Dairy is now in New Zealand hands.
He says a quick sale of all its assets to Fonterra has allowed the business to continue, saved 122 jobs, and limited the impacts for suppliers, customers, local communities and the broader Tasmanian economy.
Mr Norman says unsecured creditors can expect a fair dividend and the business has a strong future.
«‘Agri’ is quite clearly a sector where Australia has a natural competitive advantage,» he said.
«Tamar is one of those businesses that is very well positioned, with the right balance sheet strength and capital base behind it, to exploit the opportunities that will come with the ‘agri’ sector and the dairy sector over the next decade or more.»
Fonterra optimistic about yoghurt business
That confidence has been reiterated by Fonterra Australia managing director, Judith Swales.
She says the Tamar Valley Dairy operation is a fantastic fit with Fonterra’s business in Australia.
Ms Swales says the factory’s future is absolutely assured and is really the continuation of Fonterra’s relationships in Tasmania.
«We are a large player in the yoghurt and dairy dessert category,» she said.
«If you look at average consumption per capita, in Australia we’re way behind the Europeans and the Americans.
«We should be eating more yoghurt as a country, so for us we see it as a great fit.
«It gives us a capability from a manufacturing point of view that we haven’t had previously under our own control.»
Source: ABC