An unprecedented 19.5 million Freedom shares traded hands today, 7 per cent of shares on issue.
Freedom Foods makes the cereal brands Arnold’s Farm and Heritage Mill. It also makes Australia’s Own longlife milk and Australia’s Own organic almond milk.
The company’s biggest shareholder is the Perich family, with 52.5 per cent of shares, who run Leppington Pastoral Company dairy farm just west of Sydney.
The trigger is a mystery within the corporate offices. The brief Freedom Foods statement on Wednesday said Brendan Radford, currently commercial director, had been appointed acting chief executive of the company. And it said chairman Perry Gunner had been appointed executive chairman, he was previously a non-executive chairman.
Meanwhile, Tony Perich, his brother Ron, and Ron’s son Michael, who are all directors, have recently been buying up more Freedom Food shares on market. Since early March they have added about 1.5 million shares to Arrovest’s holding since March.
The investment vehicle now has 145,556,000 shares.
