ABP Food Group is set to acquire additional beef processing capabilities in Poland.
ABP, Ireland’s largest beef processor, recently notified the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection in Poland of its intentions.
An ABP spokesperson declined to comment on the proposed deal but did say that the company is always looking for opportunities in the markets in which they operate.
The Polish processor in question is understood to be Sklodowscy-Tykocin sp z o o and it is understood that its beef assets have the capability to process in excess of 4,500 cattle per day.
In 2014, ABP Food Group expanded its operations in Poland with the acquisition of a second production facility in Klosowice, Western Poland. The facility, acquired from Italian food group Ferrarini, increased ABP’s production capacity in Poland to over 100,000 animals per year.
ABP entered Poland in 2011 through the acquisition of a plant in Pniewy, which is 30km away from the newly acquired facility.
ABP is also currently engaged in a high-profile merger here in Ireland with Northern Ireland co-operative Fane Valley which will see ABP take a 50% share in Slaney Foods.
The Competition Authorities in Brussels and Dublin have not been notified formally to date of the proposed tie-up between ABP Food Group and Slaney Foods.
Both the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (‘the CCPC’) in Dublin and the European Commission confirmed to Agriland that they as yet have not been notified of the proposed merger.
Last month, Fane Valley Co-Op and ABP Food Group announced that they have been informed by the Directorate General for Competition that the proposed 50:50 joint venture in relation to Slaney Foods, comes under the remit of the EU for merger control assessment.
However, to date, no formal notification has been issued by the parties to the competition authorities and, as yet, there is no clear timeline for any investigation into the merger.