Arla Foods to Acquire Southern German Dairy
Arla Foods is preparing to strengthen its position in Germany after making an offer to purchase southern German dairy company Allgauland-Kasereien, which is in financial difficulty. The next step in the process is that Allgauland-Käsereien will hold a general meeting at which its milk producers will make a decision regarding the purchase offer. If they decide to accept the offer, the acquisition will be subject to approval by the EU competition authorities.
Allgauland-Kasereien has 1,800 milk producers, operates four production facilities and has an annual turnover of Eur253m, of which 31% is from exports. It primarily produces cheese and butter, but also some fresh dairy products. According to Kuno Rumpel, chairman of the board of Allgauland-Kasereiens, Arla’s offer is “a necessary step towards ensuring the future of our company.”
“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, group director of Arla Foods International with responsibility for Arla’s German market. “Some of their products will supplement the cheeses Arla already makes, among them the cheeses marketed under the House of Castello quality brand.”
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. Arla’s strategy also focuses on growth within cheese, including the global House of Castello brand.
