Arla Foods Advances German Dairy Acquisition
Arla Foods has moved a step closer to acquiring Allgauland Kasereien after the last of the six co-operatives which own the Southern German dairy company voted in favour of the deal. If Arla Foods acquires Allgauland-Kasereien, the German dairy will avert the threat of bankruptcy.
Over the coming days and weeks, the final part of the process is expected to fall into place. Arla’s target is that the deal will include contracts of a minimum of 250 million kg of milk. The acquisition is subject to approval by the EU competition authority.
“We see important potential in Allgauland-Kasereien’s cheese production. They produce excellent speciality cheeses for which there is important international potential and it is for this reason that the dairy is of interest to Arla Foods,” explains Tim Orting Jorgensen, executive vice president of Arla Foods, who is responsible for Arla’s international markets Some of their products will supplement the cheeses Arla already makes, among them the cheeses marketed under the House of Castello quality brand. We see great potential in Allgauland’s products and not only in Germany.”
Earlier this year, Arla Foods merged with the northern German dairy, Hansa-Milch, which produces only fresh dairy products. Arla’s aim is to become one of the largest dairies in Germany.