Wellington, May 13 - Australian co-operative Dairy Farmers said on Tuesday that New Zealand's Fonterra has become the second company in a month to seek regulator clearance to bid for the group, in a deal that could be worth $943 million.
Fonterra, New Zealand's largest company, follows National Foods in pursuing the milk and cheese producing Dairy Farmers, asking the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to say whether it has any concerns over a potential takeover.
Fonterra's bid may not be the last, and other bidders could emerge over the coming weeks, Dairy Farmers chief executive Rob Gordon said.
"Dairy Farmers' Board will meticulously assess each of the available options before its puts a recommendation to its dairy farmer shareholders," Gordon said in a statement.
Analysts say a sale could fetch in the region of A$800 million to A$1 billion ($754-943 million).
Dairy and juice producer National Foods, owned by Japanese brewer Kirin Holdings, has told the ACCC it is willing to divest assets to gain approval for a bid.
Fonterra, a co-operative owned by about 11,000 farmer shareholders, controls a third of the world's dairy exports and accounts for 7 percent of New Zealand's gross domestic product.
Analysts have said other potential bidders for Dairy Farmers include Italy's Parmalat, Australian food group Goodman Fielder and Singapore's Olam International. ($1=$1.06, NZ$1=$1.30)