Dairy co-ops get merger go-ahead

The boards of Arla Foods Amba, a Northern European co-op with UK headquarters in Leeds, and Milk Link, a co-op based in Bristol, had said that both customers and farmers would benefit from their combined clout.

Yesterday, it was announced that the Milk Link member vote saw 5,560, or 99.53 per cent, of the votes cast in favour of the merger proposal and 26, or 0.47 per cent, against. Arla Foods Amba’s board of representatives saw 152 of the votes cast, or 96.8 per cent, in favour of the merger, with five, or 3.2 per cent, against.

This means the full merger will now take place subject to the necessary regulatory approvals.

Peter Lauritzen, chief executive of Arla Foods UK, said it will mean “Milk Link members will become part of one of Europe’s leading dairy co-operatives and will be able to achieve, after a transitional period, the same level of return as enjoyed by existing Arla Foods Amba members in other parts of Europe”.