Watchdog eyes Dairy Crest deal with Müller

DAIRY Crest’s planned disposal of its milk business to German yoghurt giant Müller has been called in by Britain’s competition watchdog.

Despite the referral by the European Commission to the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Dairy Crest said the £80m sale of its loss-making milk division, is on track.

Chief executive Mark Allen said: ‘It has always been our preference for the transaction to be reviewed in the UK, so we welcome this referral back to the CMA as a positive step.’

The deal was agreed last November to allow Dairy Crest to focus on its cheese and spreads business. The milk sector has come under huge pressure with falling prices and growing supermarket sales which have led to a dwindling door-to-door milkman service for Dairy Crest.

Allen said the sale to Müller will create ‘economies of scale that will help to create a more sustainable UK dairy sector that is better placed to compete on the global stage’.

Dairy Crest shares rose 2.9p to 454p.