The European Commission (EC) has given the go-ahead for the all-Danish takeover. The EC concluded the intended acquisition would not raise any competition concerns because of its “very limited impact” on the structure of the domestic pork market.
Danish Crown already owns over 90% of SPF-Danmark. The EC approval has cleared the way for both companies to enter into negotiations over the pork producer acquiring full control of SPF.
“We are just about to enter negotiations over whether we can reach an agreement on buying the rest of the shares in SPF,” said Jens Hansen, head of press at Danish Crown. “So, we hope to have something to tell the market within two to three weeks.”
The EC’s decision was posted on Wednesday 8 June.
SPF-Danmark A/S claims to be the world’s largest transporter of live pigs, carrying around 15 million pigs from farm to abattoir every year, while Danish Crown AmbA is one of the largest pork processors in Denmark.
The transaction was approved under the EU Merger Regulation.
Danish Crown has been under pressure in recent months and posted a 3.87% fall in pre-tax profits in its half-year trading results on 24 May.
How do EU mergers work?
An EC spokesman explains: All proposed mergers notified to the Commission are examined to see if they would significantly impede effective competition in the EU. If they do not, they are approved unconditionally. If they do, and no commitments aimed at removing the impediment are proposed by the merging firms, they must be prohibited to protect businesses and consumers from higher prices or a more limited choice of goods or services. Proposed mergers may be prohibited, for example, if the merging parties are major competitors or if the merger would otherwise significantly weaken effective competition in the market, in particular by creating or strengthening a dominant player.