“SPF Danmark is the largest player in the trade and transport of live pigs and accounts for a significant part of trade in piglets on both the Danish market and for export. The company also operates Danish Pigs Transport [Dansk Grisetransport], which runs transport from swine herds to the slaughterhouse, and UNI-Transport, which transports carcases, offal, fat and frying oil for processing,” said a Danish Crown statement. SPF also has a fleet of more than 150 trucks and employs around 250 members of staff.
The purchase follows the European Commission’s approval of the deal acting as the EU’s top competition authority, under the EU merger regulation on 8 June, noting the merger would not damage competition within the EU pigmeat sector.
SPF’s resources combine with a Danish Crown operation that remains a major player in Europe’s pigmeat sector – its revenues reached about DKK60 billion (US$9.1bn) with about 26,000 employees, according to the 2014/2015 annual report released last November (2015). Danish Crown has approximately 8,000 cooperative members that supply 1.3 billion kilogrammes in product every year.
'Impeccable cooperation'
Commission documents said Danish Crown specialises in the slaughtering, deboning, processing and refining of meat, as well as the sale of fresh meat and meat products. And while SPF-Danmark trades and transports piglets and breeding animals in Denmark and abroad, as well as transporting finisher pigs to slaughterhouses in Denmark, the company does not produce piglets, breeding animals or finisher pigs.
The Danish Crown communiqué noted SPF Danmark had “had a positive development” since Danish Crown and Tican took ownership in 2008. “We are looking forward – together with management and employees – to continuing the development in the years ahead. The company now will be a 100%-owned subsidiary of the Danish Crown Group,” said Preben Sunke, CFO of Danish Crown.
“Over the years we have enjoyed an impeccable cooperation with Tican about the operation and development of SPF Denmark. The basis for cooperation was changed when Tican [was acquired by] a German owner,” he added. Germany’s Tönnies Holding acquired Tican in October 2015. The agreement covered Tican’s operations in pig slaughtering and meat processing, including the companies Tican Fresh Meat, Direct Table Foods, Pro-Pak Foods, Tican UK, Tican Chilled and Nove, as well as its sales companies in Germany and China.
Danish Crown added the purchase price of the SPF deal would not be made public.