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Notice of Financial Assistance – Contract Fee for Units

Regulatory24 February 2021FSFConsumer Staples

24 February 2021

Provision of Financial Assistance on behalf of Contract Milk Suppliers


Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited ("Co-operative") advises that pursuant to the scheme it established

with effect from the start of the 2018/19 season (“Scheme”), it will advance financial assistance to The

New Zealand Guardian Trust Company Limited ("Trustee"), as trustee of The Contract Fee Trust

("Trust"), on behalf of the Co-operative's contract milk suppliers.


Background to the Scheme


Farmers are generally required to hold ordinary shares in the Co-operative ("Shares") in proportion to

their milk production. However, in limited circumstances, the Co-operative purchases milk from farmers

who either do not hold any Shares, or hold insufficient Shares to supply milk to the Co-operative

("Participants"). The terms of the supply agreements with Participants allow the Co-operative to charge

each Participant a "contract fee", currently five cents per kilogram of milk solids supplied by that

Participant.


In order to encourage the Participants to supply the Co-operative as farmer shareholders, the Co-

operative will transfer an amount equal to the "contract fee" paid by each Participant to the Trustee (such

payment referred to below as the "Participation Payment"). The terms of the Trust require that the

Trustee instructs a broker to acquire, on-market, units ("Units") in the Fonterra Shareholders Fund, using

the Participation Payment transferred by the Co-operative (less any applicable taxes).


The Trustee will hold the Units acquired on trust for the Participants, on a separately identifiable basis as

between Participants, based on the amount of the "contract fee" paid by the relevant Participant.


Where a Participant indicates that they intend to continue to supply milk to the Co-operative as a

shareholder, the Trustee will transfer all Units held in respect of that Participant to them for them to

convert those Units into Shares. The Trustee will instruct the broker to sell, on-market, the Units held in

respect of a Participant who elects not to continue to supply milk to the Co-operative as a shareholder.

The Trustee will distribute the proceeds of that sale to the Co-operative.


The Co-operative will pay for the fees associated with the Scheme (including fees charged by the Trustee

and any broker's fees) ("Expenses").


Financial assistance


The Scheme will involve the Co-operative providing financial assistance in connection with the acquisition

of Shares, because a Participant may exchange Units acquired by the Trustee from funds supplied by

Fonterra into Shares.

Fonterra Co-operative Group
Confidential to Fonterra Co-operative Group Page 2



The Co-operative therefore provides this announcement pursuant to section 80 of the Companies Act

1993.


Shares in respect of which

the financial assistance

has been provided

The Shares into which the Units (held by the Trustee in respect of

Participants) are converted.

Consideration paid for the

Shares

The price paid by the broker for Units purchased on the NZX Main

Board in accordance with the Scheme.

Recipients of the financial

assistance

The Trustee and all Participants who elect to become a shareholder of

Fonterra and convert the Units held for them into Shares.

Nature and amount of the

financial assistance

The total of all Participation Payments made by the Co-operative, as

well as all Expenses paid by the Co-operative. It is expected that this

sum will not exceed $2,500,000 in the 12 month period from 1 June

2020 to 31 May 2021.


-ENDS-


For further information contact:


Anya Wicks

Director, Governance, Risk and Audit

Phone: +64 21 283 0945

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