Dawn Meats has received approval from the EU Competition Commission for its acquisition of a 49% stake in Elivia, which is the second largest beef and veal processor in France, with a turnover of EUR1bn.
The agreement with Elivia’s owners, French cooperative Terrena, also includes an option for Dawn Meats, which supplies fresh and frozen meat products for retail and foodservice, to increase its stake in Elivia to 70% by 2019.
“In a consolidating industry we believe that this deal brings considerable scale and knowledge sharing benefits to both parties,” said Niall Browne, CEO of Dawn Meats said. “Our aim is to leverage our leadership position in traceability and sustainability so that we are at the vanguard of meat marketing internationally. Our scale, premium positioning and routes to market will benefit our customers and thousands of farmer suppliers in Ireland, the UK and now, via Elivia, in France.”
Elivia is a major player in agrifood in France and employs 2,600 staff.