Fonterra brands sale to Lactalis

The story so far

Fonterra proposed selling consumer brands, including Mainland and Anchor, to French company Lactalis.^{9, 17, 30 Oct 2025} One report put the deal at $3.845 billion, while another put it at about $4.2 billion.^{9, 30 Oct 2025} NZ First leader Winston Peters demanded answers from Fonterra about the sale and urged farmers in an open letter to reject it.^{9, 17 Oct 2025} Peters also suggested Fonterra could face increased regulation if the sale proceeded.^{17 Oct 2025} Fonterra said the information was publicly available, and the sale was put to a farmer vote.^{9, 30 Oct 2025}

Latest

Fonterra shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favour of selling the consumer brands to Lactalis. The sale marks a shift towards advanced ingredients and food service products.^{30 Oct 2025}

Key moments

1. 9 Oct 2025Winston Peters demands answers from Fonterra over Lactalis brand sale.
2. 17 Oct 2025Peters urges farmers to reject the sale in an open letter.
3. 30 Oct 2025Fonterra farmers overwhelmingly approve sale of brands to Lactalis.

Written from the stories below; each sentence links to its sources.