Fonterra's sale of brands like Mainland and Anchor is expected to have ripple effects across the economy.
Farmer-shareholders have voted overwhelmingly to sell off the dairy co-op's consumer arm to French dairy giant Lactalis for $4.2 billion dollars.
It's expected to unlock billions of dollars of additional spending into the economy.
Chief executive Miles Hurrell says says Fonterra hopes to return about $3.2 billion to shareholders - equivalent to about 0.7 percent of GDP.
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