Wellington, Dec 18 - Farmer owners of New Zealand's biggest company, dairy giant Fonterra, are set to vote on a change in structure in 2007 which could lead to a partial listing of the group, which has an estimated value of NZ$7.9 billion ($5.4 billion).
Fonterra chairman Henry van der Heyden said the co-operative would work through a range of options with farmers early in 2007 and planned to put an alternative structure to a vote later in the year.
"We are looking at something that is fundamental change, we're not just tweaking our capital structure," van der Heyden told Reuters.
Fund managers welcomed the idea of Fonterra, with an estimated market value second only to Telecom Corp.'s, NZ$9.6 billion, joining the New Zealand exchange, whose total listings are valued at about NZ$41.5 billion.
Macquarie Equities investment director Arthur Lim said a potential listing would be popular with investors.
"Up till now it's been very hard, given agriculture still forms the backbone of the economy, to get any meaningful exposure to agribusiness."
Fonterra, with revenue of NZ$13 billion through its virtual monopoly on New Zealand's dairy sector, is the country's top company by sales, generating around one-fifth of New Zealand's exports and 7 percent of gross domestic product.
It controls one-third of global dairy trade, making it the the world's biggest dairy exporter.
Van der Heyden said Fonterra wanted to address the ability to raise capital, the potential of retiring farmers to cash in their shares and cause a run on the balance sheet, and the ability to grow the milk supply.
Fonterra Shareholders Council president John Monaghan said there was a lot of work to be done before any changes could occur, but ongoing farmer control of Fonterra was likely to be non-negotiable.
"Farmers are always open minded about change, but clear benefits need to be demonstrated," he said.
Local media reports said Fonterra was looking at a partial stock exchange listing, but van der Heyden said it was too early to talk about specific options.
Fonterra was formed in 2001, from the merger of two previous dairy co-operatives with the industry controlling body, the dairy board.
Any change in its structure will have to be approved by at least 75 percent of Fonterra's 12,000 farmer shareholders. ($1=NZ$1.46)