Arla and Valio in partial

Arla of Sweden and Valio of Finland may merge production of cheese, edible fats, yogurt, baby food and powder products, while keeping liquid milk, juice and ice cream operations separate.
Talks currently underway focus on proposals from an external consultant which recommend that a jointly owned holding company should be created to manage the merged operations.
According to Valio’s chairman, Seppo Hakola, the aim of the new project is to form a unit to rival the large central European dairies.