Vandemoortele proposes UK plant sale to secure Délifrance deal approval

Vandemoortele has projected the merchantability of 1 of its UK plants arsenic different measurement toward gaining regulatory support for its acquisition of bakery adjacent Délifrance.

The Belgium bakery radical had antecedently pledged to merchantability 2 Délifrance facilities successful France to allay EU contention concerns.

However, amid akin anti-trust unease, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a alleged Phase 2 probe successful April into the acquisition - archetypal announced successful March past twelvemonth - aft Vandemoortele failed to find a purchaser for the 2 sites successful France.

The CMA said it has present launched a consultation connected the bakery group's caller pledge to divest its mill successful the UK metropolis of Worcester. The merchantability covers the plant's assets, contracts, its 73 accumulation staff, and lawsuit relationships.

Vandemoortele's "structural remedy" follows the CMA's archetypal decision that the merger whitethorn pb to a "substantial lessening of contention (SLC)".

The regulator said the interest relates to "horizontal unilateral effects" successful the proviso of frozen laminated dough products to retail and foodservice customers.

Vandemoortele had pledged successful December to merchantability the Délifrance facilities successful Avignon and Béthune, a determination that secured provisional support from the European Commission.

Announced successful March past year, the woody would make a €2.4bn (then $2.6bn) bakery group.

The UK regulatory authorization is seeking feedback connected the projected Worcester mill sale, with funny parties fixed a deadline of 25 June to record comments.

"The CMA whitethorn besides see an amended form, oregon amended forms, of the remedy proposal, and whitethorn besides see immoderate different practicable remedies that the parties, oregon immoderate funny 3rd parties, whitethorn suggest that would beryllium effectual successful comprehensively addressing the SLC and immoderate resulting adverse effects we person provisionally identified."

Délifrance operates 14 accumulation facilities, supplying retail and out-of-home customers crossed Europe and successful Asia. The concern employs much than 3,200 staff.

Vandemoortele has 28 manufacturing plants and 3,500 workers. The company's frozen bakery brands see Lizzi, Banquet d'Or and Lanterna, portion the concern besides produces for private-label customers. It supplies markets successful Europe and the US.

"Vandemoortele proposes UK works merchantability to unafraid Délifrance woody OK" was primitively created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand.