UK dairy processors Medina Dairy and Freshways Dairy have entered into a merger agreement, in order to establish a more sustainable and progressive dairy business.
Under the terms of the agreement, the merged business will be called Medina Freshways and will have a combined turnover of £400 million.
Windsor-based Medina Dairy is a supplier of milk, dairy and bakery products to UK retailers, wholesalers and foodservice operators. Based in west London, Freshways Dairy claims to be the UK’s largest independent processing dairy and its portfolio includes milk, cream, cheese, butter and yogurt.
Combined, the new business will reportedly employ 1,000 staff and process around 500 million litres of British Red Tractor farm assured milk.
The companies believe the merger will create the basis for a viable, long-term, fresh liquid milk business – which will have the “requisite scale and agility to compete with the two large players which dominate the dairy sector in the UK”.
Following completion of the transaction, a new board and management structure will be put in place. Sheazad Hussain (current Medina Dairy CEO) and Bali Nijar (current managing director of the Freshways group of companies) have been appointed as joint managing directors.
Nijjar and Hussain said: “Throughout our discussions it has become increasingly apparent how complementary both businesses’ capabilities and cultures are. As such, through merging we will be able to harness these synergies to create a leaner, more agile and fit for purpose business.
“A business that will benefit customers, consumers and suppliers and ultimately, we believe, will be well placed to grow and develop in a sustainable manner for the long term.”
The merger – which is subject to regulatory approval by the Competitions & Markets Authority (CMA) – is expected to come into effect by the end of 2021.
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