Following the unanimous decision by the boards of Arrabawn Co-Operative Society Limited and Tipperary Co-Operative to merge the two co-ops, the proposal has since been notified to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC).
The deal was put to respective milk supplying shareholders for approval, where it saw the required 75% plus vote in favour of the merger, with 94% of both memberships giving their approval.
Once regulatory approval is completed by the commission, it will allow for the formal establishment of the merged deal.
The CCPC protects the interests of consumers and it has the power to block mergers and acquisitions where it finds that the deal would lead to a substantial lessening of competition.
The decision is currently in Phase 1 – the initial review period for clearance. The CCPC was notified on Thursday, November 14 and the deadline for a decision is within 30 days.
Once the deal is approved, business can go ahead and the new merged co-op is due to be called Arrabawn Tipperary Co-operative Society Limited and will be a dairy and agri-trading co-operative.
Arrabawn and Tipperary
Arrabawn currently collects milk from over 1,000 shareholder farmers, generating a turnover of over €403 million per year. It comprises food ingredients and agriculture business units that produce a range of B2B and dairy consumer products.
Tipperary co-op has over 400 suppliers all situated within a 40km radius of the processing site. It has a daily milk pool of over one million litres, allowing the production of a wide range of dairy products.
If the merger reaches completion, it will be owned and controlled by over 4,800 members, with more than 1,400 milk suppliers supplying almost 750 million litres of milk annually. The co-op will have projected annual turnover exceeding €700 million.
A decision is still to be made on who will take over the role of CEO for the new co-op.