DEAR SIR: I am writing this letter in support of, and urgently seeking a Kerry Co-op Special General Meeting (SGM).

We, the shareholders, have been promised this SGM by the board, the previous chairman, and the CEO.

An SGM will allow everyone to have their say and vote on the proposed rule changes.

The advisory committees sought an SGM as details of the last attempt at a joint venture (JV) with Kerry Group were published. If an SGM does not take place now, a deal will be done before shareholders get to have their say.

The board must be accountable to shareholders – they must listen to people on the ground.

We have a new chairman, Denis Carroll, and I for one am slightly apprehensive about his appointment and his views on how to fund a proposed JV for the dairy processing business. He has stated publicly that he is in favour of a JV.

In my opinion, Denis Carroll may be considering reducing the conversion ratio, which is 6.12 Kerry Group plc shares for each Kerry Co-op share (and has been reduced to 5.9 in the share redemption scheme), to further fund this JV.

On 1,000 shares, reducing the conversion ratio by 0.1 is the equivalent of taking €11,000 off a shareholder. The board could easily try to take even more than this. There have even been rumours of a conversion at 5.5, which would equate to €68,000.

I believe the fact that over 75% of shareholders in Kerry Co-op are dry shareholders, many of whom may have no interest in processing milk, seems to have escaped Mr Carroll and the board. There are just under 3,000 A shareholders (milking) and over 9,000 B and C shareholders (dry).

Milk suppliers are well capable of buying their own processing facilities. This includes new entrants who haven’t been asked to share up (buy shares in the co-op) at all.

If an SGM does not take place on this issue, I believe there is a risk the board will cut the conversion ratio further to fund this proposed 60/40 JV.

JVs are only a stepping stone to full ownership. When the remaining 40% needs to be bought, they may well be back trying to cut the conversion ratio further again.

I am a dry shareholder and demand that the conversion ratio is not reduced below 5.9.

I demand that we have the SGM we have been promised now that restrictions have lifted. It is written into Kerry Co-ops rules that all shareholders must be treated equally by the constitution (Rule 9b).

Mr Carroll has said publicly that he is going back and talking to the people in “discussion groups.”

The fact is, discussion groups are made up exclusively of milk suppliers – when will Mr Carroll talk to dry shareholders? Denis Carroll has talked a lot about accountability in the board; in my opinion, if he doesn’t hold an SGM, he has no accountability or credibility.

I would strongly encourage all other shareholders to contact the board and Denis Carroll and demand the SGM.

Kerry Co-op still holds €50m of all shareholders’ money and reducing the conversion ratio from 6.12 to 5.9 gives it another €100m. Let the milk suppliers make up the rest of the deficit in any joint venture.

Kerry Co-op is a co-op in name only – in reality, it is a holding company, and any reduction in conversion ratio beyond 5.9 could be challenged in court.

Remember, 65% of shareholders voted to ring fence the 5.9 conversion ratio already at the AGM in 2019.

The board of Kerry Co-op must be held accountable.