A year ago, the Danish-Swedish dairy giant Arla (the world's fifth-largest) announced that it was merging with the German dairy cooperative DMK to form one of the world's largest dairy companies. A deal of this magnitude must be carefully reviewed by the European Commission to ensure it does not distort competition, and today they announced that the deal has been given the green light.
In a press release, Arla's CEO Peder Tuborgh says:
"Together, we will build one of Europe's best dairy cooperatives. Our ambition is to be a reliable partner in strengthening European food security and to continue promoting responsible agriculture that reduces our impact on the climate and nature, while contributing to access to good food."
Both Arla and DMK are cooperatively owned by their members and have a combined turnover of over 20 billion euros, with 11,200 dairy farmers across seven countries.