By Tara de Ryk
April 16, 2010

DAVIDSON-Members of Davidson Co-operative Association Ltd. last Wednesday voted to merge their Co-op with Riverbend Co-op.
There were 76 members signed up at the special meeting.

The vote was nearly unanimous with one member voting against the merger. A similar meeting was held in Outlook on Tuesday at which members there voted unanimously to merge the two Co-ops.

Now that they have the go-ahead, administration from the Co-ops will get to work melding Davidson's equity with Riverbend's, says Geoff Anderson, general manager of Davidson Co-op.

He said the result of the meeting pleases the board.

"It's the direction the board wanted to take the Co-op in, so we're happy," Anderson said.

The amalgamation will take effect Oct. 31, 2010. Davidson Co-op will do a yearend on its financial statements to coincide with Riverbend's yearend.

Anderson said Davidson Co-op would hold an annual general meeting in March, which will be its last AGM as Davidson Co-op.

Members should notice little immediate change, Anderson said.

"If anything in the next year or so we will be looking at ways to expand our opportunities," he said.

Prior to the vote members listened to a presentation on the merger.

Riverbend, with locations in Outlook, Kenaston and Beechy, is much larger. It has nearly 4,000 members and sales last year of $31 million. It employs 85 people and has $18 million in assets on its books. Davidson with its one location has 1,461 members and sales last year of $7.7 million, plus a local loss of $19,663.

Davidson Co-op employs 30 people and has assets worth about $3.1 million.

The presentation was pro-merger. Members were told Davidson was looking to amalgamate with Riverbend because the two share similar values of a "strong member first commitment that focuses on community."

As well the two Co-ops overlap in trading area and already have a shared fuel arrangement.

The "pros and cons" were outlined. The only cons noted was that Davidson would lose a local board and a local general manager.
The pros that Davidson would benefit from were:
• access to broader range of expertise;
• reduced overhead costs;
• reduced FCL service fees;
• higher equity returns;
• age of equity pay out to 67 years versus 75;
• improved benefit program for staff;
• sharing of assets (vehicles, software);
• your Co-op number will work at all locations;
• emergency staff back up;
• local voices on merged Co-op's board, and
• experienced general manager.

After the presentation Dale Firby, general manager of Riverbend Co-op, fielded some questions.

One member wanted to know if Davidson had looked at merging with other Co-ops such as Craik or Imperial.

The response was that it had been looked at but Riverbend seemed to be the best fit.

The leaderonline is a division of The Davidson Leader, Davidson, Saskatchewan, Canada.