The result was announced at a special meeting today.
The proposal will bring the farmer owned co-operative’s existing two classes of shares together into a single class.
Of the votes received, 87.69% of co-operative shareholders and 83.39% of investment shareholders voted for the proposal. Turnout was 27.28% of co-op shares and 37.36% of investment shares.
For the changes to proceed they needed to be approved by both classes of shareholders, each to a level of 75% or more of the votes received.
Chairman Murray King said that the result was an emphatic endorsement of the proposal from shareholders and that the board would now proceed with the next steps in implementing the simplified share structure.
“This result is good news for LIC, our shareholders and New Zealand dairy farmers. It will allow us to decisively address the increasing disparity between the two existing classes of shares and ensure a resilient and agile co-op for the future.
LIC would now seek ministerial consent for the change and had written to the Minister of Agriculture seeking it.
“It is then the board’s intention to carry out the implementation of the proposal over July 2018 with the aim to have trading in the new single class of Ordinary Shares open on 23 July 2018,” King said.
