According to Food Supply the Swedish Competition Authority (Konkurrensverket) has initiated an investigation into Arla Foods’ acquisition of a factory from Semper.
In May 2024, Arla Foods announced its acquisition of Semper’s premises and land in Götene from the Swiss Hero Group. The purchase price was not disclosed. Semper had been producing baby porridge and infant formula at the plant, which is located next to Arla’s dairy facility in Götene.
According to documents requested by Food Supply from the Swedish Competition Authority, Arla Foods did not file a notification of corporate concentration in connection with the acquisition. This is required if an acquisition involves companies with revenue levels as high as those of Arla Foods and Semper.
Under the Swedish Competition Act, a corporate concentration is defined as occurring when “control over a company is permanently changed, for example, as a result of a company gaining control over parts of another company through an asset acquisition.”
For this reason, the Competition Authority has now initiated an investigation, including sending questions to Arla about whether they assessed the acquisition as a corporate concentration and how large the revenue of the acquired business was.
In a written response to Food Supply, Arla Foods explained why they didn’t file a notification with the Competition Authority:
– We have not reported the transaction because it is not subject to a notification requirement. We will communicate this to the Competition Authority, wrote Ylva Nykvist, Chief Legal Officer at Arla Sweden.
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