Arla Foods UK’s acquisition of Yeo Valley Dairies has been approved by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), following a phase one investigation.
Arla agreed a deal with Yeo Valley Group to acquire the business in February, and the deal will give Arla the exclusive rights to use the Yeo Valley brand in the UK market for milk, butter, spreads and cheese products.
However, Yeo Valley Group will retain the rights to its yogurt, ice cream, cream and desserts business, which will be remain under the ownership of the Mead family.
The CMA launched an inquiry into the acquisition in May 2018, stating that the deal could create “a substantial lessening of competition” in the dairy market.
However, the CMA concluded yesterday that this would not be the case, and has now sanctioned the deal.
Ash Amirahmadi, managing director of 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.”
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