The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has today announced the approval of Müller UK & Ireland’s acquisition of Dairy Crest’s processing, trading and distribution activities relating to liquid milk, packaged cream, flavoured milk and bulk commodity ingredients.
The acquisition, which includes Dairy Crest’s dairy facilities at Severnside, Chadwell Heath, Foston and Hanworth together with around 70 depots, will complete no later than 27th December 2015.
The decision follows agreement by the CMA that Müller will toll process a nominated volume of fresh liquid milk for fresh milk processor Medina Dairy at the Severnside facility to ensure competition for national multiple tenders in the South West, Wales, the South and the Midlands.
Ronald Kers, Chief Executive of Unternehmensgruppe Theo Müller said:
“As a family owned company, we aim to invest in businesses where we can add value through our knowledge, scale and entrepreneurial way of operating.
“This acquisition is very much in line with this mission and we are delighted that we can now press on, drive towards completion of this transaction and begin work with our new colleagues to bring these businesses together.
“There is no question that further consolidation is required in the UK fresh milk sector and with this hurdle now cleared, we have an exciting opportunity to create a more competitive, sustainable, efficient and innovative dairy processor in the UK.”
Mark Allen, Chief Executive of Dairy Crest, commented:
“We are delighted that the sale is now confirmed and will complete this year.
“This is a transformational moment for Dairy Crest and the wider dairy industry. The deal will help to create a more sustainable UK dairy sector. It will deliver economies of scale and cost efficiencies that will underpin investment in the sector and help the UK to compete more successfully in global markets.
Dairy Crest will now be able to focus on growth, through both our branded cheese and spreads operations and new revenue streams from manufacturing products for the fast-growing global infant formula market.
“We will work with Müller to ensure completion is achieved as smoothly as possible.”
Environment Secretary, Elizabeth Truss, said:
“This sale of Dairy Crest's Dairies operations to Müller will provide greater stability for our milk industry and the hard-working farmers who supply it.
“It will also allow Dairy Crest to focus on growth in its cheese and spreads business in the UK, and innovative new products for export to high-growth markets.
“Dairy farmers are a vital part of our £100 billion food and farming industry and today’s decision is welcome news. This deal will encourage further investment in the sector which will in turn enable the UK to compete more effectively internationally.”
Müller UK & Ireland
Müller UK & Ireland is wholly owned by the Müller Group. It has 19 sites nationwide and employs almost 6,000 people across two business units: Müller Dairy and Müller Wiseman Dairies.
Müller Dairy is the UK’s leading branded yogurt manufacturer, with major brands such as Müller Corner, Müllerlight and Müller Rice.
The business makes chilled desserts including Cadbury Bubbles of Joy, Pots of Joy, Layers of Joy and Twin-pot products, produced under license from Mondelez.
Müller Dairy also supplies the UK private label yogurt market from a state of the art yogurt facility in Telford, Shropshire.
Müller Wiseman Dairies is a leading fresh milk, cream and butter business with a network of dairies and depots servicing customers throughout the country.
The business recently commenced butter-making, opening a major facility in Shropshire with the capacity to produce up to 45,000 tonnes of salted, unsalted and lactic butter each year for the manufacturing, food service and retail sectors.
To make its range of dairy products, the Müller UK & Ireland buys milk from more than 1,200 British dairy farmers, all of whom are Red Tractor Farm Assured.
Müller Wiseman Milk Group Dairy members elect a representative farmer board which works with the business to discuss milk supply issues, including the Group’s commitment to maintain a competitive milk price and contractual position.
