Danish Crown and Tican, Denmark’s two cooperative slaughterhouse companies, have agreed to merge, launching a membership and competition authority process to approve the decision.
Tican, who have 277 members and kill 1.9 million pigs a year, has been looking for an “economic business partner” for some time, according to a joint statement.
“We never expected Danish Crown to be a potential partner, but this merger is undoubtedly the preferred solution for our members,” said Tican’s chairman, Jens Jørgen Henriksen, adding it not only secured a future for Tican, but also ensured that members would continue to contribute to “value creation in the Danish food industry”.
Danish Crown, who have 8,278 members and kill 22m pigs a year at plants in Denmark, Germany, Sweden, the UK and Poland, commented that it had already received a clear indication that the merger would be possible from a “competition aspect”.
“Danish Crown is a strong company, even without the merger with Tican, but sensible synergies can be realised through joining forces,” said Danish Crown’s group CEO, Kjeld Johannesen.
Even with positive indications on the competition question, it’s expected that clearance for the merger will take several months.
“We will spend the next few months getting to know each other’s companies through in-depth analyses to ensure the best possible outcome of a merger,” said Tican’s CEO, Ove Thejls.
