The representative assemblies of Arla and DMK have voted in favor of a merger. Now, the only step remaining is approval from the competition authorities — and Arla’s chairman remains optimistic

• We’re not counting our chickens before they hatch, but we don’t believe the merger will suddenly make us too big, said Arla chairman Jan Toft Nørgaard in an interview with the online news outlet AgriWatch.

The new company, which received a green light from the representative assemblies on Wednesday, will, pending regulatory approval, operate under the Arla name and leadership. It is expected to generate annual revenues of around DKK 140 billion and include over 12,000 farmer-owners.

Due to legal constraints, Jan Toft Nørgaard cannot yet comment in detail on the strategic aspects of the merger until it is finalized. However, he notes that increased milk volumes and DMK’s expertise in yellow cheese will significantly strengthen Arla.

• When it comes to raw materials, as a cooperative, we prefer the milk to come from our owners rather than from contract suppliers. That’s why it’s really fortunate that we’ve found each other — and with our shared milk resources, we now have the raw material base we need for many years to come, says Jan Toft Nørgaard.

Speaking further about raw materials, the Arla chairman highlights the strategic value of the large volumes of whey that DMK can supply, which Arla processes into protein products.

• We’ll be getting a lot of whey through DMK. That’s incredibly important, as it’s a key part of our business, says Jan Toft Nørgaard.

You can read the full interview here (Subscription required)

Photo: Arla