Conditional approval for Cargill’s acquisition of ADM’s Europe chocolate business

Cargill will formally acquire Archer Daniels Midland’s (ADM) chocolate business in Europe following a conditional clearance from the European Commission.

As part of the $440m global deal, Cargill will own ADM’s three chocolate and compound production sites in Europe, including Liverpool (UK), Manage (Belgium), and Mannheim (Germany). More than 650 employees will be transfered to Cargill, while quintessential European ADM brands such as Ambrosia, Merckens and Schokinag will join Cargill’s existing portfolio of chocolate brands.

The deal also includes three chocolate, compound and liquor production sites in North America, including Milwaukee and Hazleton in the US, and Georgetown in Canada.

Cargill Cocoa and Chocolate North America president Bryan Wurscher said: "The acquisition underlines Cargill’s commitment to meeting our customers’ needs, and constitutes a milestone for our chocolate growth strategy, strengthening our position as a leading player in the cocoa and chocolate industry.

"The new organisation will deepen our service to chocolate customers and expand our footprint and production capability significantly. Customers will benefit from a combined business, with a broad range of high-quality cocoa and chocolate products for confectionery, bakery, dairy, and other applications."

Cargill’s cocoa and chocolate business EMEA and Asia president Jos de Loor said: "Growing our business goes hand-in-hand with our commitment to securing the long-term viability of a strong and sustainable cocoa bean supply chain.

"With the Cargill Cocoa Promise, we are supporting progress towards a transparent cocoa supply chain, enabling farmers to achieve better livelihoods, and delivering a sustainable supply of cocoa and chocolate products to meet the growing demands from customers."

European Commission was concerned about the effect of the deal on competition and started an investigation in February.

To address this, Cargill has agreed to divest ADM’s German industrial chocolate production facility in Mannheim, which will function as a separate entity with its own interim management until there is an agreement with a prospective buyer.

Corroborating this, commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, commented: "Chocolate is a sweet yet serious business, and we want to ensure that consumers will not have to pay more for their favourite chocolate sweets, biscuits and ice cream. With Cargill’s divestment of ADM’s industrial chocolate plant in Mannheim the Commission is confident effective competition will continue."

The global deal already secured clearance from the US Department of Justice earlier. The deal was first announced last year in September.