Premium Food Group has offered to walk away from its plan – so far blocked by regulators – to buy more Vion assets in Germany as long as fellow meat major Westfleisch steps up to the plate.
In June, Germany’s competition authority blocked Premium Food Group’s bid to acquire another batch of assets in the country owned by Netherlands-based peer Vion.
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The Bundeskartellamt said at the time the deal would hit farmers and smaller rivals.
Premium Food Group, formerly known as Tönnies Group, had said it would try to overturn the decision through the German courts but, this week, put forward an unusual suggestion for rival meat processor Westfleisch to step in.
On Monday, at a farming conference in Bavaria in southern Germany, Premium Food Group managing partner Clemens Tönnies offered to rip up the proposed deal with Vion if Westfleisch committed to take over the sites. “This is not about Tönnies. This is about Bavaria and Bavarian farmers,” Mr Tönnies said during a panel discussion. “The uncertainty must come to an end.”
Premium Food Group had been looking to buy slaughterhouses in Buchloe, Crailsheim, and Waldkraiburg, as well as a deboning facility in Hilden and two hide-processing plants in Memmingen and Eching-Weixerau.
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By GlobalDataThe company believed the deal, rebuffed by Germany anti-trust body Bundeskartellamt, still had “a good chance of success” through the courts or possible ministerial approval, a spokesperson said.
“However, this would have taken even more time, which the agricultural sector in southern Germany does not have,” he added.
Approached by Just Food for Westfleisch’s stance, the company said in a statement: “We welcome the decision of the Premium Food Group to bring an end to the stalemate concerning the restructuring of the southern German slaughterhouse structure and to clear the way for new discussions with Vion. As for the role of Westfleisch, we are currently unable to make any concrete statements, as we have not yet had the opportunity to review the documents in detail.”
Vion began a round of meat-asset closures in Germany in 2023 and later announced a plan to exit the market completely.
In 2024, the then Tönnies Group struck a deal to buy Vion’s cattle slaughterhouse and pre-packed facility in Altenburg in the Thuringia region of Germany and acquire Ahlener Fleischhandel, a ham processing plant in Westphalia.
In May this year, Premium Food Group announced plans to close the ham production site.
On Monday, Vion issued its own statement on Premium Food Group’s offer to Westfleisch.
“Following the prohibition of the planned transaction of Vion sites to Premium Food Group by the German Federal Cartel Office, Vion and PFG have discussed in recent days how to give way to other parties to engage with Vion regarding their interests.
“Several interested parties have already approached us, and we will carefully assess all serious proposals to determine the best long-term solution – for our business, our teams, and our partners in the region.”
