FrieslandCampina gets nod from European Commission to acquire cheese specialist Zijerveld

Dutch dairy cooperative Royal FrieslandCampina has attained approval from the European Commission (EC) for the acquisition of cheese specialist Zijerveld and its packaging unit Den Hollander Food from MYWO Food.

On 7 January, FrieslandCampina entered into an agreement to acquire the two companies and submitted the acquisition for approval to the European Competition authorities.

The EC has approved the acquisition, subject to production capacity, a sales volume of semi-hard goat’s cheese and goat’s milk, being made available to one or more external players, which means that about 35% – 45% of the goat’s cheese sales of Amalthea, as a partner of Zijerveld, must be sold on the open market.

FrieslandCampina will enter into discussions with Amalthea for a solution.

Zijerveld will continue to trade as an independent entity within the FrieslandCampina Cheese, Butter & Milk Powder business.

The acquisition of Zijerveld is part of the co-operative’s strategy to strengthen its presence in added value cheese products.

The deal will allow FrieslandCampina Cheese to offer its customers a wider range of cheese products and services.

Zijerveld, located in Bodegraven, provides Dutch-type and foreign cheeses, and also offers its customers customised concepts and logistics services.

The cheese specialist owns ripening warehouses and packaging and logistics locations, and employs about 300 people.

Zijerveld, which has annual sales of €400m, has three commercial divisions: Retail, Traditional & Out of Home and International Markets.

Den Hollander Food, the packaging business unit of Zijerveld, owns 13 packaging lines and three grated cheese lines, and employs 140 people.

The business, which is based in Lochem, the Netherlands, focuses on sliced cheeses in various re-closable packages, and its products are primarily targeted towards large European retailers and other cheese producers.