August 12, 2025 • 7 mins
We head to the coalface to yarn with a Southland sheep and beef farmer, who is also a large-scale Alliance Group shareholder, about the proposed sale of 65% of the co-op to Irish company Dawn Meats.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
So let's go to the cold face and find out
what a farmer thinks of the proposed sale of sixty
five percent of the Alliance Group to Irish company. Dawn
meets Pete Turner is a Southland farmer, large scull operator,
twenty thousand stock in its large Alliance shareholder, and Pete,
there's a bit of family history in this, because your
(00:20):
father John is a former chair of the Alliance Group.
I was going to ask him what he thought of it,
but then I might have to push the dump button
on him. What about you, how do you feel the
next generation down?
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Well, I was certainly not happy about it, Jamie. The
company's got in the situation they've got to and you
know there's got to be some questions. You know, he's
asked about that. But look, it looks as though that
the proposal that I've got with Dawn Meats seems to
align Phiry good with with Alliance, you know, with Alliance
philosophy and business. And I think, you know, at least
it's worth something. At the end of the day, they
(00:55):
valued at about five hundred and two million. If you
get banks involved in two years ago, the company probably
was worth nowhere near that so yeah, look, not happy,
but it seems to be a reasonable fit. And I
think you know, there's shareholders have got to get to
the road shows starting on the twentieth or September, you know,
to get some more information about Dawn Meets.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
You haven't got that long to think about it. And
when you think about a lot of the Alliance shareholders,
they're sheep farmers. They're kind of busy over the next
couple of months.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Yeah, no, true, but it's really important they get to
along to the road shows because I mean, this massive decision,
not just not for Alliance, for the industry as well
of wear heads because it's the last co operative. It's
basically going to be gone now. But you know, shareholders
have still got some equity thirty five percent on the
news proposal, and they've got to say so, and they've
(01:46):
still got a boat to decide, you know, does it
go ahead or not. But there's no other not too
many other options out at Jamie.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Mark Quinn told me on yesterday's show that theoretically your shares,
your one dollar shares, your pa are you are going
to be worth a dollar twenty six and then you
can trade those on the secondary market. I suggest to you, Pete,
and I don't want to be doomsday on this one.
They won't be worth a dollar twenty six once farmers
start trading. Will there be a run on the bank.
(02:14):
Will some farmers be disgruntled that there is no longer
one hundred percent co op option?
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Look, I think you've got to realize in the shear
market is going to be a willing buyer and a
willing seller. So I mean, if they can't sell this year,
is nobody wants to buy them. I don't know if
they'll be able to sell them, So I think that
comes into mind. But I do agree with you. I
mean the dollar twenty six I thinks is just a
paper figure. I think in a twelve months time that'll
be the You know, they've put proof of the pudding
(02:41):
of where the company actually is regarding shares. Because people
can trade in and trade out, some people will take
them up. But you know, Alliance have made it clear
they've lost a massive amount of market share over the
last twelve months to other companies or eighteen months, and
that's going to be the key of whether they can
get those farmers back or is the further on market
share for them.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
I look back to the time and I think it
was near the end of his tenure when your father,
John Turner was the chair of the Alliance Group and
there was this proposed mega merger, mega merger. As I said,
I was doing some homework for an old friend's eulogy
and there was John Key in a patterkin Riversdale, my hometown,
with my old mate Rowan Horrell. They were there for
(03:24):
the purposes of a drought, but they were also discussing
the mega merger. So this is two thousand and nine.
It's easy to be wise in hindsight. But we got
it wrong then, didn't we.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Yeah, No, I think we did get it wrong. And
I think, you know, there's hindsight, as you said, Jamie
is a great thing, and I think some of the
current directors and past directors of Alliance will be in
the same position of why the company's got in the
same position. But I mean, you've got to look forward,
you know, you can't look backwards. That's why her eyes
were on the front of your head. So we look forward,
and you know, and this is what's in front of us.
(03:58):
It doesn't look as though we've got too many options
moving forward, and it's a completely different model. You know,
we're potentially Back then it was a mega merger of
sixty percent and here we are now probably going to
lose the cooperative, but least you know, there's still some
equity in the company for shareholders.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Okay, well, let's look forward and some of the potential
positives out of this, the synergies around having a Northern
Hemisphere partner.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Yeah, well, I think you know, they are on the
other side of the world, they're close to the market,
they seem to have a family business. The CEO of
Dawn Meats has sent out a letter to all the
shareholders and explained what they're about, and you know it
reads resume. Well, when you know, it seems to be
a better better fit than just getting money in the marketplace.
(04:47):
You know, they're a processor as well, process process a
lot of cattle. Allions will fill in the sheep side
of things, more sheep for them, So there seems to
be a reasonable fit you'd think around that moving forward.
So yeah, look, I mean it's the only option they've
got at this stage, Jamie. So I think you know,
(05:08):
shareholder is going to seriously consider, you know, where they
want the you know, they want the company and getting
rid of Alliance isn't the fix for the industry. You know,
that's going to be made clear. You know, people think that,
you know, the Alliance falls over, it's the fix of
the industry. It's clearly not.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
I talked to Mark Gwen yesterday about some of the
perceived anyhow bad practice with an Alliance which was selling
itself as a co op but behaving in an uncooperative manner. Really,
when it comes to sweetheart deals for larger suppliers and
third party traders, do you think they're going to knock
that on the head or have they largely done that? Oh?
Speaker 2 (05:45):
No, I think they've got to change this massive. This
is why most people, you know, they've lost market shares
because of this third party trading and you know, losing
connection with the shareholders. I mean, it's just putting another
level in the middle. I mean, but it's just it's
just not that as well. You know, then schedule isn't competitive.
For mean, if you look at it last week or
(06:05):
this week, you know, there's a massive difference between the
alliances schedule and some of the opposition and that's going
to be closed up. And that's why people are leaving
and why the industry is in the same thing. And
the big thing we've got to realize that sheep meets
is that sheep meets is a niche product. And I mean,
if you end the story, it's a niche product. And
that's how it's got to be marketing and the place
(06:25):
you can get to the market for that and get
the feedback for what the consumer wants. That's that's how
niche product marketing works. And it's got nothing to do
with commodity. It's at the other end of the scale.
So especially for sheep meats, you know, it makes up
two percent of the world protein, I think, and we've
just you know, there's got to be some change within
(06:46):
Alliance and how they do their business because if they
carry on the way they are, you know, in three
or four years times there won't be a company that'll
be gone and the industry will be completely different.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
And let's not forget lamb as a wonderful product. Pete Turner,
thanks for some of your time, good luck and good
luck for a good spring in southa this year. I
think you're owed one after last year.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Well we're certainly going to need one because you know,
we've had a couple on a road down south that
have been philly testing. And yes, all farmers are looking
forward to a good spring. We've had a mild winter
so far, so let's just hope it doesn't bring it
in the spring. But thanks very much, Jamie.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Well thank you Pete. He's gone rather quickly, Pete Turner
there out of South
So let's go to the cold face and find out
what a farmer thinks of the proposed sale of sixty
five percent of the Alliance Group to Irish company. Dawn
meets Pete Turner is a Southland farmer, large scull operator,
twenty thousand stock in its large Alliance shareholder, and Pete,
there's a bit of family history in this, because your
(00:20):
father John is a former chair of the Alliance Group.
I was going to ask him what he thought of it,
but then I might have to push the dump button
on him. What about you, how do you feel the
next generation down?
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Well, I was certainly not happy about it, Jamie. The
company's got in the situation they've got to and you
know there's got to be some questions. You know, he's
asked about that. But look, it looks as though that
the proposal that I've got with Dawn Meats seems to
align Phiry good with with Alliance, you know, with Alliance
philosophy and business. And I think, you know, at least
it's worth something. At the end of the day, they
(00:55):
valued at about five hundred and two million. If you
get banks involved in two years ago, the company probably
was worth nowhere near that so yeah, look, not happy,
but it seems to be a reasonable fit. And I
think you know, there's shareholders have got to get to
the road shows starting on the twentieth or September, you know,
to get some more information about Dawn Meets.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
You haven't got that long to think about it. And
when you think about a lot of the Alliance shareholders,
they're sheep farmers. They're kind of busy over the next
couple of months.
Speaker 2 (01:24):
Yeah, no, true, but it's really important they get to
along to the road shows because I mean, this massive decision,
not just not for Alliance, for the industry as well
of wear heads because it's the last co operative. It's
basically going to be gone now. But you know, shareholders
have still got some equity thirty five percent on the
news proposal, and they've got to say so, and they've
(01:46):
still got a boat to decide, you know, does it
go ahead or not. But there's no other not too
many other options out at Jamie.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Mark Quinn told me on yesterday's show that theoretically your shares,
your one dollar shares, your pa are you are going
to be worth a dollar twenty six and then you
can trade those on the secondary market. I suggest to you, Pete,
and I don't want to be doomsday on this one.
They won't be worth a dollar twenty six once farmers
start trading. Will there be a run on the bank.
(02:14):
Will some farmers be disgruntled that there is no longer
one hundred percent co op option?
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Look, I think you've got to realize in the shear
market is going to be a willing buyer and a
willing seller. So I mean, if they can't sell this year,
is nobody wants to buy them. I don't know if
they'll be able to sell them, So I think that
comes into mind. But I do agree with you. I
mean the dollar twenty six I thinks is just a
paper figure. I think in a twelve months time that'll
be the You know, they've put proof of the pudding
(02:41):
of where the company actually is regarding shares. Because people
can trade in and trade out, some people will take
them up. But you know, Alliance have made it clear
they've lost a massive amount of market share over the
last twelve months to other companies or eighteen months, and
that's going to be the key of whether they can
get those farmers back or is the further on market
share for them.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
I look back to the time and I think it
was near the end of his tenure when your father,
John Turner was the chair of the Alliance Group and
there was this proposed mega merger, mega merger. As I said,
I was doing some homework for an old friend's eulogy
and there was John Key in a patterkin Riversdale, my hometown,
with my old mate Rowan Horrell. They were there for
(03:24):
the purposes of a drought, but they were also discussing
the mega merger. So this is two thousand and nine.
It's easy to be wise in hindsight. But we got
it wrong then, didn't we.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Yeah, No, I think we did get it wrong. And
I think, you know, there's hindsight, as you said, Jamie
is a great thing, and I think some of the
current directors and past directors of Alliance will be in
the same position of why the company's got in the
same position. But I mean, you've got to look forward,
you know, you can't look backwards. That's why her eyes
were on the front of your head. So we look forward,
and you know, and this is what's in front of us.
(03:58):
It doesn't look as though we've got too many options
moving forward, and it's a completely different model. You know,
we're potentially Back then it was a mega merger of
sixty percent and here we are now probably going to
lose the cooperative, but least you know, there's still some
equity in the company for shareholders.
Speaker 1 (04:16):
Okay, well, let's look forward and some of the potential
positives out of this, the synergies around having a Northern
Hemisphere partner.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Yeah, well, I think you know, they are on the
other side of the world, they're close to the market,
they seem to have a family business. The CEO of
Dawn Meats has sent out a letter to all the
shareholders and explained what they're about, and you know it
reads resume. Well, when you know, it seems to be
a better better fit than just getting money in the marketplace.
(04:47):
You know, they're a processor as well, process process a
lot of cattle. Allions will fill in the sheep side
of things, more sheep for them, So there seems to
be a reasonable fit you'd think around that moving forward.
So yeah, look, I mean it's the only option they've
got at this stage, Jamie. So I think you know,
(05:08):
shareholder is going to seriously consider, you know, where they
want the you know, they want the company and getting
rid of Alliance isn't the fix for the industry. You know,
that's going to be made clear. You know, people think that,
you know, the Alliance falls over, it's the fix of
the industry. It's clearly not.
Speaker 1 (05:24):
I talked to Mark Gwen yesterday about some of the
perceived anyhow bad practice with an Alliance which was selling
itself as a co op but behaving in an uncooperative manner. Really,
when it comes to sweetheart deals for larger suppliers and
third party traders, do you think they're going to knock
that on the head or have they largely done that? Oh?
Speaker 2 (05:45):
No, I think they've got to change this massive. This
is why most people, you know, they've lost market shares
because of this third party trading and you know, losing
connection with the shareholders. I mean, it's just putting another
level in the middle. I mean, but it's just it's
just not that as well. You know, then schedule isn't competitive.
For mean, if you look at it last week or
(06:05):
this week, you know, there's a massive difference between the
alliances schedule and some of the opposition and that's going
to be closed up. And that's why people are leaving
and why the industry is in the same thing. And
the big thing we've got to realize that sheep meets
is that sheep meets is a niche product. And I mean,
if you end the story, it's a niche product. And
that's how it's got to be marketing and the place
(06:25):
you can get to the market for that and get
the feedback for what the consumer wants. That's that's how
niche product marketing works. And it's got nothing to do
with commodity. It's at the other end of the scale.
So especially for sheep meats, you know, it makes up
two percent of the world protein, I think, and we've
just you know, there's got to be some change within
(06:46):
Alliance and how they do their business because if they
carry on the way they are, you know, in three
or four years times there won't be a company that'll
be gone and the industry will be completely different.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
And let's not forget lamb as a wonderful product. Pete Turner,
thanks for some of your time, good luck and good
luck for a good spring in southa this year. I
think you're owed one after last year.
Speaker 2 (07:06):
Well we're certainly going to need one because you know,
we've had a couple on a road down south that
have been philly testing. And yes, all farmers are looking
forward to a good spring. We've had a mild winter
so far, so let's just hope it doesn't bring it
in the spring. But thanks very much, Jamie.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Well thank you Pete. He's gone rather quickly, Pete Turner
there out of South
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