Denmark’s Arla Foods and Germany’s DMK Group plan to merge into a single cooperative that will bring together more than 12,000 farmers to create a European dairy giant, Bloomberg reported.
“The combined company will be called Arla and will have combined annual revenue of 19 billion euros ($20.7 billion),” the publication said. — “The headquarters will be located in Viby, Denmark, and Arla’s current CEO Peder Tuborg will retain this role in the new company.”
Arla and DMK Group are among the largest dairy cooperatives in Europe.
The merger will help secure high milk prices for owners, provide a more diversified product portfolio and allow them to invest in the future of the dairy industry, Bloomberg reported.
The companies’ boards of directors will meet in June to vote on the merger, with approval expected later this year.
DMK is one of Germany’s largest dairy companies. It was formed through the merger of two jointly organized northern German companies, Humana Milchunion and Nordmilch, which were the two largest German milk processors.
Arla Foods is Scandinavia’s largest dairy producer.
French food and beverage company Danone reported a 0.9% year-on-year decline in revenue to €27.38 billion in 2024, while net profit rose 2.3-fold to €2.02 billion.
The company attributed the decrease in revenue to factors such as its exit from Russia, the sale of the Horizon Organic and Wallaby brands in the United States, and currency fluctuations.
Meanwhile, revenue from the company’s dairy and plant-based products division fell by 6% to €13.46 billion.
In May 2024, Danone announced the completion of a deal to sell its dairy business in Russia to Vamin R. LLC.
