Arla decides not to bid for Egyptian dairy

After a thorough investigation into Arab Dairy Product Company, Arla has decided not to place a final offer. Alternative options to enter the Egyptian market are now being explored.

Since Arla made a non-binding bid for all shares in the listed Egyptian dairy company, Arla Foods and its team of advisors have conducted a thorough due diligence exercise concerning Arab Dairy Product Company.

“Our conclusion, based on the due diligence, is that we shall not place a final tender offer for Arab Dairy. Egypt is, however, still an interesting market for us and we are working on alternative options to enter the market soon,” says Finn S. Hansen, Executive Vice President for Consumer International.

Arla Foods is a global dairy company and co-operative owned by 13,500 dairy farmers circa 3,000 of whom are British.

Dating back to 1881, Arla’s purpose is to secure the highest value for its farmers’ milk, while creating opportunities for their growth. With production facilities in 11 countries and sales offices in a further 30, Arla is the world’s sixth largest dairy company and largest supplier of organic dairy products. Arla has a total of more than 18,000 colleagues and its products are sold under the well-known brands Arla®, Lurpak® and Castello® in more than 100 countries.

Arla Foods UK is the largest dairy company in the country and is home to leading dairy brands Anchor, Cravendale, and Lactofree. It processes 3.5 billion litres of milk a year and has a turnover of £2.2 billion. As well as being number one in fresh liquid milk, butter, spreads and cream, Arla is the UK’s largest cheese manufacturer. It has also built the world’s largest fresh milk facility located at Aylesbury and has plans for it to be the first zero carbon site of its kind. The UK business has a team of approximately 4,000 colleagues located at its dairies, distribution centres and head office.