The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has requested further information on the proposed sale of Arrabawn Co-op’s liquid-milk contracts to Aurivo.
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.
Arrabawn Co-op previously stated that milk supply and upcoming liquid-milk contracts will not be impacted by this proposed deal.
The co-op, which employs 110 people in the liquid-milk portion of its business, said its priority is “to support all employees and suppliers during the transition”.
If the deal secures approval from 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.
CCPC
The proposed takeover by Aurivo is subject to due diligence and approval from the CCPC.
The state regulator is currently undertaking a review to determine whether the potential deal will or will not substantially lessen competition in the marketplace.
As part of its initial “Phase 1” investigation, the CCPC invited submissions from third parties. The authority previously confirmed to Agriland that no submissions were received by the deadline of March 2.
The deadline for the CCPC to make a determination in its Phase 1 investigations is 30 working days after the notification of the proposed acquisition.
Yesterday (Tuesday, March 28), the authority requested additional information from the parties involved in order to carry out its review.
This ‘Requirement for Information’ (RFI) will temporarily suspend the determination deadline, until the required information has been supplied.