Arla eyes Allgauland buy

Arla started 2011 by establishing an important foothold in the German milk market through its merger plans with Hansa-Milch in the north of the country. This brought the Scandinavian giant a 700 million kg milk supply and some of the best-selling fresh milk products (Hansano brand) in the region. Now arla (turnover: EUR6 billion-plus) has its sights on the 452m kg per year Allgauland dairy.
Cheese making specialist Allgauland currently operates three plants in the south of the country (a further three facilities were closed-down last year) with the last published turnover being EUR253 m earned in 2009, 31% of this from exports. The southern German dairy had not confirmed a business deal with arla but arla MD in Germany Torben Olsen comments: “We have interest in taking over Allgauland with all its activities. We see great potential in its raw milk supply network and its product range.”
Allgauland produces around 32,000 tonnes of cheese annually. Among the best-known cheeses are products marketed throughout Europe under the Bergbauern label. The dairy is also one of Germany’s most important producers of organic dairy products while arla claims that its organic milk and cheese sector is the largest in the world. Torben Olsen adds that arla Germany will be looking for further merger possibilities in the country.