Australian dairy and plant-based food major Noumi, known for its Milklab brand, is going private after agreeing to sell all its shares for A$737M ($518M) to Arrovest, which is owned by the billionaire Perich family.
After a year-long strategic review to address its impending debt obligations, Australian dairy and plant-based milk manufacturer Noumi has entered an A$737M ($518M) buyout deal with its largest shareholder, Arrovest.
The company, known for its Milklab, Australia’s Own and So Natural brands, has had a tumultuous few years on the Australian Securities Exchange, following an accounting scandal in 2020 that triggered an executive exodus and nearly ended in liquidation.
Arrovest, an investment vehicle owned by the billionaire Perich family, already owns close to 52.5% of Noumi shares, and will now acquire the remaining stock at A$0.1234 ($0.086) per share. This values the company’s equity at around A$34.2M ($23.9M), and transitions it into private ownership.
The full transaction value accounts for the equity value and the full note redemption amount, against debt obligations of around A$703M. This includes an A$610M mandatory cash redemption of the notes due next May.
As part of the deal, Arrovest has agreed to acquire all listed options in Noumi under a separate arrangement for A$0.002 each. Noumi’s independent board committee recommended the share scheme and separate option as no better proposal was found to repay or refinance the notes in full. The transaction is set to be completed in November.
Noumi’s acquisition comes amid recovery from accounting scandal
Known as Freedom Foods until 2021, Noumi has been around for over four decades, and is one of Australia’s most prominent producers of dairy and plant-based milk. It sells milk alternatives under the Milklab and Australia’s Own labels.
The company went public in 1985 and had traded as high as A$6.73 per share in 2018, but it was found to have inflated its accounts in 2019 and the first half of 2020 by including inventories that were unsellable.
Noumi was forced to restate several years of earnings following a nine-month suspension in 2020, which wiped out nearly A$590M from its valuation (around 90%) and led to mass resignations from the board and C-suite.
The company also began disposing of assets, including the sale of its cereals and snacks division to KKR-owned The Arnott’s Group. At the time, the Perich family pumped A$126M into the business to turn things around, installing Michael Perich as CEO and Genevieve Gregor as chair.
In 2024, a court ordered Noumi to pay an A$5M penalty over the accounting scandal. And last year, Deloitte agreed to pay A$31M to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by investors of Noumi, who accused the financial advisory firm of auditing failures.
“With the assistance of our advisers and over a 12-month strategic review process, we tested a broad range of sale, recapitalisation, refinancing and Note amendment alternatives,” said Gregor.
“In the independent board committee’s view, Arrovest’s proposal is the only credible and executable pathway identified that addresses the note maturity as part of a coordinated debt and equity solution and delivers a cash outcome to scheme shareholders and listed optionholders.”
Milklab sales on the rise as Noumi strikes positive tone for 2027
As the transaction gets finalised, Noumi expects to deliver an adjusted EBITDA (revenue excluding all non-operational and one-time expenses) between A$61-63M ($43-44M) in the 2026 financial year, up from $57.4M ($40.2M) in 2025.
The company forecasts an adjusted EBITDA of A$42-44M ($29-31M) for its plant-based milk segment for 2025, down from A$50.3M ($35M) last year, when it witnessed increased sales and marketing investment and unrecovered input and distribution costs. Overall revenue for milk alternatives, however, is expected to grow by 2.4% to A$186M ($130M) this year.
Sales of Milklab across both plant-based milk and dairy and nutritionals categories rose by 5.5%, thanks to a near-45% growth in plant-based retail sales, a 20% hike in oat milk sales, and the launch of a reformulated soy milk.
Exports of Noumi’s plant-based milks also increased by 10%, while stronger retail demand and an increase in contract manufacturing offset contractions in the hospitality channel to raise Milklab’s total Australian revenue by more than 3%.
“Overall, Noumi is positive about its long-term future and enters financial year 2027 with a balanced range of opportunities and initiatives positioned to meet macroeconomic challenges,” the company said.
Since September 2024, more than 80 companies involved in the alternative protein sector have been bought out or acquired, merged, fallen into insolvency, or shut down. In Australia, The Aussie Plant-Based Co and Australian Plant Proteins were both rescued from insolvency, while Proform Foods ceased operations. And earlier this year, Made Group, the owner of vegan yoghurt brand Cocobella, was snapped up by Danone.
