December 18 (SeeNews) - The Croatian competition authority AZTN said it approved plans by food company Belje Plus, a member of Fortenova Group, to acquire the local production capacities of German dairy company Meggle, which is looking to exit the Adriatic country by the end of 2020.
"With the above concentration, Belje Plus is acquiring Meggle's assets that comprise the Meggle Hrvatska plant for milk processing and production of milk products, thanks to which Belje Plus will continue production in these facilities, planning to expand its own business and sales capacities," AZTN said in a statement on Thursday.
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In October, Fortenova Group said that Belje Plus had agreed to purchase Meggle’s property and production line in the northеrn city of Osijek, planning to commence own production there on January 1, 2021. It plans to employ a hundred people at the Osijek plant.
Fortenova Group has also said it already accounts for some 10% of the total quantity of milk produced in Croatia. Most of the milk produced at Belje is used for making the ABC cheese, whose annual production is 3,700 tonnes.
In July, local media reported that Meggle had decided to shut down its factory in Osijek by the end of 2020 as part of a streamlining process that aims to establish sustainable long-term business models in all of its markets.
Meggle has been present in Croatia since 1996 when it opened its first distribution centre in the country. Production was launched three years later.
According to local media, the local unit of French multinational dairy products corporation Lactalis, Dukat, was the largest dairy company in Croatia in 2019, purchasing 42% of the country's total milk output of 435 million litres. Local dairy Vindija was second with a 29% share of purchased milk, followed by Belje with 11% and Meggle with 6%.