Brownes Dairy put up for sale after parent company enters receivership

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Brownes Dairy, one of Western Australia’s oldest dairy brands, has been put up for sale after the holding company behind it entered receivership.

Brownes Dairy was founded in 1886 and sells milk, yogurt, cheese and flavoured coffee products nationally through retailers including Coles, Woolworths and IGA.

Restructuring firm McGrathNicol confirmed it has been appointed as receiver of the shares in Australian Zhiran Co (AZC), the parent company of Brownes Dairy. The appointment was made by a subsidiary of Mengniu Dairy, a key lender to AZC.

Brownes Dairy itself is not in financial difficulty and continues to operate as normal.

McGrathNicol's partner and receiver Keith Crawford said: “We are engaging with key stakeholders to commence an orderly sale process for the iconic Brownes Dairy. As our appointment is limited to holding company shares only, we do not anticipate any impact on day-to-day operations."

In a statement, McGrathNicol said it would shortly begin an orderly sale process for Brownes via the AZC shareholding and would provide further updates "when appropriate".