CMA clears UK meat processing merger
The CMA has cleared the merger of Dawn Meats’ and Dunbia’s UK businesses, following an investigation.
The companies process meat for a range of different types of food products and operate various facilities across the UK and Ireland.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) conducted a phase 1 investigation into the merger, which found it does not give rise to competition concerns. This applies to both the purchase of livestock (cattle and sheep) from farmers and the supply of unprocessed and processed meats to customers across the UK.
This is because the companies do not currently compete strongly for the purchase of livestock.
They also would continue to face strong competition from alternative suppliers in the supply of unprocessed and processed meats.
The merger was part of a wider transaction that included the acquisition by Dawn Meats of the Irish beef business of Dunbia, which was assessed separately by the Irish Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC).
Throughout the investigation, the CMA cooperated closely with the CCPC and also with the European Commission, which reviewed a parallel merger of competitors in the same sector. The decisions from these reviews are being announced today (29 September 2017).
The merger will therefore not be referred for an in-depth investigation.
Information relating to this investigation can be found on the case page.