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Fonterra Co-operative Group has reached agreement to buy an additional 42.6% shareholding in Chilean dairy company Soprole from Fundacion Isabel Aninat.

Fonterra will buy the shareholding, adding to its existing 56.85% stake, from minority shareholder Fundacion Isabel Aninat, a charitable foundation run under Canonical Law. The US$201.9 million purchase has received final approval from the Vatican.

Fonterra’s Chief Executive Officer Andrew Ferrier said: “Soprole has been a strong performer for Fonterra over the years. By increasing our ownership, we will be able to build on this and look at ways we can grow the business even further.

“We’re very pleased with the way Soprole is performing. More than 40% of the company’s sales have been from products introduced in the last three years. We want to continue that innovation drive and create new opportunities in the rapidly expanding South American dairy markets.”

In February Soprole announced its profit for 2007 rose 160% to a record 23.8 billion Chilean pesos, or NZ$66.3 million. Soprole has, on average, returned around NZ$25 million a year to Fonterra shareholders over the past few years.

The purchase gives Fonterra 99.4% of Soprole, the second most recognised corporate brand in Chile after Coca Cola. Chile is a high growth market for the production and consumption of dairy products. Soprole is the country’s leading consumer dairy product business with a share of more than one-third of the domestic consumer dairy market.

“Soprole is an example of Fonterra’s strategies of leveraging its cow-to-consumer expertise to build profitable businesses, and also securing new sources of fresh milk around the world,” Ferrier said.