NZ's Fonterra plans to implement new capital structure by late March

(Reuters) - New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd said on Friday it would implement its new capital structure, intended to make it easier for new farmers to join the co-operative, in late March next year.

The dairy firm's farmer shareholders in December last year gave the go-ahead for the capital restructuring that aims to claw back domestic market share and retain existing farmers by reducing the minimum supply requirement for farmer owners.

"We believe late March is the best date for implementation because it avoids our share trading black-out period associated with the Co-op's interim results," Fonterra Chairman Peter McBride said.

"It also gives shareholders time to fully digest the detailed information we will be sending through ahead of the implementation date, and to seek advice from their financial advisors."

Fonterra will finalise the implementation date at its interim results, currently scheduled for mid March.

(Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Potter)