The transaction includes the Friesland Foods Fresh Nijkerk fresh dairy business, its assets and the brands Breaker, Milk&Fruit and Kwarkyoghurt. A 10-year licence agreement has been entered into for the use of the Friesche Vlag brand for fresh dairy products in the Netherlands only. The former Campina brand, Melkunie, is also part of the transaction.
The sale of the plant was one of the conditions imposed by the European Commission when it approved the merger between Friesland Foods and Campina. Completion of the sale and purchase is conditional upon the approval of the EC competition authorities and the Dutch competition authorities.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the second quarter of this year. FrieslandCampina is guaranteeing the supply of raw milk to the factory in Nijkerk until 1 January 2017.
Friesland Foods Fresh in Nijkerk produces milk, buttermilk, natural and fruit-flavoured yogurt, quark yogurt, custard, porridge, Milk&Fruit and Breaker. In Nijkerk, fresh dairy products are produced under the brand Friesche Vlag and for supermarket own-brands.
Arla Foods CEO, Peder Tuborgh, said: “This is an important step for Arla Foods, which makes the Netherlands a new, core market for our company. We believe we have a lot to offer Dutch consumers, and we’re pleased that we’ve been able to enter into this agreement with Royal FrieslandCampina, which allows us to enter a dairy market with such proud traditions. It’s in perfect alignment with our strategy to become the preferred dairy producer for consumers in northern Europe.”
Source: Royal FrieslandCampina
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