The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has confirmed to Agriland that there were no submissions from third parties on the proposed sale of Arrabawn Co-op’s liquid milk contracts to Aurivo.
In August, the board of Arrabawn announced that it had decided to cease processing operations at its liquid milk plant in Kilconnell in east Co. Galway by summer 2023.
The proposed deal involves the purchase of the liquid milk contracts by Aurivo.
However, Arrabawn would retain ownership of the plant and is set to examine alternative uses for the facility.
CCPC
The takeover is subject to due diligence and approval from the CCPC.
The proposed acquisition by Aurivo Consumer Foods, a wholly owned subsidiary of Aurivo Co-op, of certain assets of Arrabawn Co-op was notified to the CCPC on February 15.
As part of its initial “Phase 1” investigation, the authority invited submissions from third parties by last Thursday (March 2). The CCPC said that no submissions were received by the deadline.
The CCPC’s deadline to make a determination in Phase 1 investigations is 30 working days after the notification of the proposed acquisition, which in this case would be Tuesday, March 28.
This deadline may be extended if the authority requires additional information in order to carry out its review.
If this is the case, then the CCPC can issue a ‘Requirement for Information’ (RFI) to the parties. This would temporarily suspend the determination deadline, until the required information has been supplied.
Arrabawn
Arrabawn Co-op employs 110 people in the liquid milk portion of its business.
If the deal is approved by the CCPC, Arrabawn said that approximately half of these workers will transfer with the business, with redeployment opportunities also being made available to others across the wider company.
The co-op previously said that milk supply and upcoming liquid milk contracts will not be impacted by this decision, and that Arrabawn’s priority is “to support all employees and suppliers during the transition”.