Danish Crown announced the take-over of German pig slaughterhouse
Danish Crown has signed a contract to acquire the German slaughterhouse D&S Fleisch. The agreement is, among other things, conditional upon approval by the competition authorities, but both parties expect this approval to be obtained shortly.
Slaughtering 3.5 million animals a year, D&S Fleisch is the fourth-biggest slaughterhouse in Germany, and with the acquisition Danish Crown is reaching another milestone in its plan DC Future.
”In recent years, the German market and the operating economies for German slaughterhouses have represented a significant challenge for Danish Crown. Therefore, as far back as 18 months ago we were already realising that we could achieve significant impact by being active in the German raw materials market, and now we have found the optimum solution,” says Kjeld Johannesen, CEO of Danish Crown.
Important market
Germany is already an important market for Danish Crown, and a German slaughterhouse for German pigs will offer access to the market, which will benefit the entire group. With this acquisition, Danish Crown is gaining a presence in the German market and also strengthening its international sales.
”Today we have a successful business with fresh meat in Sweden, the UK and Poland, and Germany is the next obvious step. As in the other countries where we have slaughterhouse activities, the idea is to slaughter local, German pigs. This also means that the acquisition will not have any immediate impact on Danish workplaces,” says Kjeld Johannesen.
D&S Fleisch is situated in Essen (Oldenburg) close to a number of Danish Crown’s other departments in northern Germany. In addition to the slaughterhouse facilities in Essen (Oldenburg), Danish Crown is also taking over D&S Fleisch’s other slaughtering unit in Cappeln. Danish Crown not only plans to continue operations in Essen, but expects to expand capacity and create more jobs in future.
So far, D&S Fleisch has been a privately owned company. ”We have for some time been looking for the right buyer for our slaughterhouse, and Danish Crown was chosen because, with their door to the global market, they are a good match for the business which D&S Fleisch has built up over the years,” says Herbert Dreckmann, one of the owners of D&S Fleisch.
D&S Fleisch has seen strong growth in recent years. The slaughterhouse supplies the retail trade and the processing industry as well as export markets, and the pig deliveries are based on contracts which Danish Crown is taking over in conjunction with the acquisition.
Fleisch Krone Feinkost, the convenience business, is not included in the transaction but will still be managed by the existing owners.
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