In the dairy market, the authorities allow a mega-merger. Market leader Theo Müller may take over parts of the competitor Campina. In return, the “Tuffi” brand must be handed over. Products from the “Landliebe” range will be produced by another company in the future.
The Theo Müller dairy is allowed to take over parts of its competitor Royal Friesland Campina – albeit with concessions. The “Tuffi” brand will be sold to an independent third dairy and it will issue licenses to third parties for the “Landliebe” brand for rice pudding and fresh mixed milk drinks, as the Federal Cartel Office announced. This is how the competition is maintained. “The Müller Group is by far the market leader in the rice pudding, fresh mixed milk drinks and basic milk drinks markets. This market position, which is already outstanding today, would have been further strengthened by the takeover of the Friesland Campina divisions,” said Andreas Mundt, chief of the authorities. However, the companies’ commitments eliminated any problematic overlaps.
According to the Cartel Office, the Theo Müller dairy has a strong market position thanks to its comprehensive product range and the well-known brands “Müller”, “Weihenstephan” and “Sachsenmilch”. In the case of rice pudding, fresh mixed milk drinks and basic milk drinks, the Müller Group is even “dominant by far”. In 2021, the company had sales of around seven billion euros. Friesland Campina is even bigger – according to the Cartel Office, sales in 2021 were more than eleven billion euros.
The two dairies are among the ten largest in Germany. However, according to the Cartel Office, Theo Müller’s commitments for the “Tuffi” and “Landliebe” brands even go beyond the measures required to eliminate competition concerns. The takeover can be completed immediately, the authority said. If the commitments are not fulfilled according to the stipulations of the decision of the office, the approval effect would no longer apply and the merger would therefore be considered prohibited, the cartel office warned.
With the takeover, Theo Müller also gains a “significant” market share in the areas of fresh milk, UHT milk, yoghurt, pudding, semolina pudding, quark, butter and cream. However, these market shares are below the threshold of 40 percent; Therefore, there are no competition concerns, the cartel authorities said.