Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Synlait Milk Ltd., a New Zealand milk processor part-owned by Mitsui & Co., plans to make a public share offer later this month to help fund expansion of its plant in Canterbury.

The sale is being managed by First NZ Capital Ltd., Christchurch-based Synlait said in an e-mailed statement, without specifying how much it is seeking from the sale. The company is considering raising NZ$150 million ($111 million), the Press newspaper reported on Nov. 7.

Synlait, which milks about 15,000 cows, left Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd. and started its own processing plant in 2008 to maximize earnings from its herd and benefit from increasing dairy prices. It produced 30,000 metric tons of product in the year ended July and will increase that to 50,000 tons this year, the Press reported, citing Managing Director John Penno.

The offer is likely to be made to institutions and individuals and will probably be a mix of new and existing stock, Synlait said today.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gavin Evans in Wellington at gavinevans@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 11, 2009 22:43 EST