Lactalis completes Slovenian dairy buy

Lactalis now has official approval for its purchase of a 50.3% holding of Slovenia’s largest milk processor Ljubljanske Mlekarne (2011 turnover: €154 million). With four plants, including one in neighbouring Bosnia-Herzegovina, the dairy processes around 146 m kg milk annually and claims a 40% market share of retailed dairy products in the country including UHT milk (Alpsko), traditional yogurts under the Mu label and a wide range of cheeses, particularly Sticna and Benedikt products made originally by monks in the famed Sticna Monastery. The cheese-making plant of this monastery was taken over by Ljubljanske Mlekarne some years ago. The dairy claims to be a pioneer of ice cream manufacture and marketing in Slovenia, with a 16% market share in this respect.