UK-based meat group Morliny Foods has acquired German peer Wolf Group for an undisclosed sum.

Morliny Foods, owned by China’s WH Group, and produces cooked meat and poultry products. It operates in seven countries.

Wolf Group has production sites in Schwandorf, Schmölln and Nuremberg. It has around 1,800 employees.

In a joint statement, the companies confirmed Wolf Group will continue to be led by Christian Wolf as CEO and the existing management team in the "upcoming expansion phase".

Mr Wolf said: "The partnership with Morliny Foods marks a new phase in our 100-year company history.

“We see many opportunities for us in Morliny's growth vision and strong international orientation, and in this way, we want to transform our company into a secure position. Being part of a strong international network enables us to grow throughout Europe.

“At the same time, we are creating the necessary conditions to be able to master these challenges in the future in an extremely difficult market environment with rising costs and increasingly fierce competition."

Luis Cerdan, the CEO of Morliny Foods, said Wolf Group “stands for quality, innovation and taste and a high level of consumer trust".

He added: "The acquisition of the Wolf Group strengthens our strategic presence in Europe – with growth in our meat products and convenience products business in Germany. Together, we will build on this strong foundation and leverage Morliny's strengths and international distribution network to continue to grow."

In July, WH Group struck an acquisition in the pet-food category in Europe by snapping up Poland-based Pupil Foods.

It came after the group renamed its European arm, previously known as Smithfield Europe, to Morliny Foods.