Multi-million-pound dairy merger gets the green light
The Competition and Markets Authority has cleared the proposed acquisition by Arla Foods of Yeo Valley Dairies.
In February, Leeds-headquartered Arla Foods announced it was to acquire Yeo Valley Dairies, a subsidiary of the Yeo Valley Group, in a multi-million-pound deal.
The CMA has now concluded its phase one investigation and has granted permission for a licence to supply certain dairy products under the Yeo Valley brand. The transaction is now unconditional.
The transaction will give the farmer-owned dairy cooperative the rights to use the Yeo Valley brand in milk, butter, spreads and cheese under an intellectual property licence with Yeo Valley.
The Yeo Valley yogurt, ice cream, cream and desserts business will continue to be run independently through Yeo Valley Group, which remains under the ownership of the Mead family.
Ash Amirahmadi, managing director, Arla Foods UK, said: “This is significant news for our business, the industry and our farmer owners. We want to maximise the growth in organic dairy products and continued investment in the Yeo Valley and Arla brands will be key to this.
“We particularly want to extend a warm welcome to the dairy farmers within the Coombe Farm Milk Pool who are partner suppliers to Waitrose Duchy Organic. Our cooperative beliefs and values are very aligned and we look forward to working closely in the coming months.”
The Yeo Valley yogurt, ice cream, cream and desserts business will continue to be run independently and remain under the ownership of the Mead family.
