Fonterra, NZX and EEX enter GDT partnership

17 February 2022
Fonterra, NZX and EEX enter GDT partnership for future growth
Fonterra has agreed a strategic partnership with New Zealand’s Exchange (NZX) and the European
Energy Exchange (EEX) to each take ownership stakes in Global Dairy Trade (GDT) alongside the Co-op.
Subject to the approval of Boards, clearance from European or any other relevant competition law
authorities, and finalisation of transaction documentation, the partnership is expected to be completed
mid-2022, with Fonterra, NZX and EEX each holding an equal one-third (33.33%) shareholding in the
global dairy auction platform.
Fonterra Chief Executive Miles Hurrell says the move to a broader ownership structure marks the next
step in the evolution of GDT – further enhancing the standing of GDT as an independent, neutral, and
transparent price discovery platform, giving it a presence in prominent international dairy producing
regions, and creating future growth opportunities.
“This is good news for our farmer owners, unit holders, and all dairy industry participants and is expected
to lead to greater volumes being traded on GDT. It will bring more participants and transactions,
stimulating further growth of risk management contracts available on financial trading platforms.
“We all know that dairy is one of the most volatile traded commodities,” he says. “This partnership is
another step in helping to manage this risk for everyone – from the farmer through to the customer at the
end of the supply chain. A more liquid dairy trading environment allows for the growth of financial tools
which can be used by all participants to better manage price volatility.
“Our focus has been about securing the best partners, and NZX and EEX share our vision for a stronger,
more liquid auction platform that benefits all involved. We are also closely aligned on future possibilities
for GDT as the world’s most trusted reference point for dairy commodity prices.”
NZX Chief Executive Mark Peterson says the price discovery that GDT provides the international dairy
industry is crucial for dealing with volatility and its associated risks.
“We see the expansion of the physical trading environment as both further strengthening existing financial
contracts and enabling the creation of new tools and opportunities for dairy processors and end-users to

Fonterra Co-operative Group
Page 2

manage price volatility. These offer clear benefits for New Zealand dairy farmers and customers around
the world,” he said.

EEX Chief Strategy Officer Dr Tobias Paulun says “becoming a shareholder of Global Dairy Trade is
perfectly in line with the EEX strategy of taking asset classes which we already successfully serve to a
global dimension. With our experience in operating Europe’s leading trading platform for dairy futures, but
also with multiple spot contracts in the energy space, we believe that we can be of value supporting
GDT’s growth vision.
“At the same time, we can create value for the global dairy value chain by further improving price
discovery and price risk management instruments.”
GDT Director Dr Eric Hansen says “GDT is excited that the addition of NZX and EEX as shareholders
alongside Fonterra will enable us to build on our success in establishing a global brand and expertise in
price discovery to create more opportunities for our customers.
“The strong alignment of all three shareholding partners to GDT’s purpose of credible price discovery will
support initiatives to increase liquidity on GDT, attract new supply from prominent dairy producing regions,
and will strengthen GDT’s linkages to financial trading platforms.”
ENDS

For further information contact:

Fonterra Communications
Philippa Norman
Phone: +64 27 582 0492

NZX Communications
Georgia Thompson
Phone: +64 27 392 9613

EEX Public Relations
Phone: +49 341 2156-216 I +33 1 73 03 76 52
presse@eex.com

GDT Communications
Meredith Reeves
Phone: +64 22 322 7527


About Fonterra

We’re an Aotearoa, New Zealand dairy co-operative owned by 10,000 farming whānau (families). Through the spirit
of co-operation and a can-do attitude, Fonterra’s farmers, along with 20,000 employees around the world, share the
goodness of our milk through innovative consumer, foodservice and ingredient brands. Sustainability is at the heart
of everything we do, and we’re committed to leaving things in a better way than we found them. Everyday people
working hard to be Good Together in the community.

About NZX

For more than 150 years we have been creating opportunities for Kiwis to grow their personal wealth and helping
businesses prosper. As New Zealand’s Exchange, we are proud of our record in supporting the growth and global
ambitions of local companies. NZX operates New Zealand's equity, debt, funds, derivatives and energy markets. To
support the growth of our markets, we provide trading, clearing, settlement, depository and data services for our
customers. We also own Smartshares, New Zealand's only issuer of listed Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), and
KiwiSaver provider SuperLife. NZX Wealth Technologies is a 100%-owned subsidiary delivering rich online platform

Fonterra Co-operative Group
Page 3

functionality to enable New Zealand investment advisors and providers to efficiently manage, trade and administer
their client's assets. Learn more about us at: www.nzx.com

About EEX

The European Energy Exchange (EEX) is the leading energy exchange which builds secure, successful and
sustainable commodity markets worldwide – together with its customers. As part of EEX Group, a group of
companies serving international commodity markets, it offers contracts on Power, Natural Gas and Emission
Allowances as well as Freight and Agricultural Products. EEX also provides registry services as well as auctions for
Guarantees of Origin, on behalf of the French State. More information: www.eex.com

About GDT

Global Dairy Trade (GDT) is the world leader in developing and operating dairy trading platforms, and actively
supports the development of efficient dairy derivative trading. Our GDT Events auction service is the world’s pre-
eminent price discovery platform for globally-traded dairy products, bringing together buyers and sellers of dairy
ingredients from 70 countries to trade US$2-3 billion annually. GDT’s credible, market-based reference prices play
an important role in allowing buyers and sellers to trade with confidence in global and regional dairy markets.Data
generated from the auction process is available through our GDT Insight subscription service to support the global
dairy industry and associated financial trading.