Dawn Meats has sold its minority stake in French beef and veal processor Elivia to its partner in the joint venture for an undisclosed sum.
The Waterford-based company acquired its stake in Elivia, then France’s second biggest meat processing company with a turnover of €1 billion, in 2015 for a reported €40 million after receiving EU competition approval.
In a statement Dawn Meats said that over the past seven years, “significant investments” had been made in the French company in collaboration with its partner company Terrena, a French agricultural co-operative. “We found that our vision for the French market and our ambition for the future strategic direction of Elivia is not aligned with that of our partner Terrena, and we have therefore decided to dispose of our shareholding in Elivia,” said Dawn Meats chief executive Niall Browne in a statement on Thursday.
He recognised the strategic importance of the French market for Irish beef and lamb, and said the Irish company would continue to “develop new opportunities” there.
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The disposal of Dawn Meats’ stake in Elivia is subject to approval by French competition authorities.
Separately, Larry Goodman’s ABP Food Group on Thursday announced the acquisition of two meatpacking sites in Scotland. The Irish meat processing group has concluded an agreement with Scottish company Scotbeef to take over its Bridge of Allen and Queenslie plants, which will become part of ABP’s UK meat division.
“We look forward to working with the team in Scotbeef to ensure a smooth and seamless transition for farmer suppliers, colleagues and customers at the Queenslie and Bridge of Allan plants,” said Frank Stephenson, ABP group chief executive. “It will be very much business as usual with a commitment to building on Scotbeef’s well established tradition and reputation for high quality Scottish red meat products.”
ABP generated turnover of €5 billion last year and employs more than 13,000 people.
