Bega Cheese has acquired Lion Dairy and Drinks for $534 million, returning iconic brands like Dairy Farmers, Farmers Union, Pura Milk, Big M and Yoplait to Australian ownership.

It will undertake a $401 million capital raise with the deal expected to be completed by the end of January.

China’s Mengniu Dairy had offered $600 million to buy Lion Dairy and Drinks but the deal was rejected by the Federal Government and deemed not in the national interest.

Bega Cheese Executive Chairman Barry Irvin has told Brooke Corte it’s a very big deal.

“We haven’t been in that fresh dairy section so now that we’re in fresh dairy it doubles the size of the company, we’ll be a company that now has revenue of over $3 billion, $2.5 billion of which will be in Australia and $500 million overseas,”

“We’re a true scale food company now, it’s very exciting,”

Click play to hear the full interview: