Arla merger off
The deal would have created a company worth €10bn, employing more than 28,000 people.
Neither side would explain what went wrong, but claimed relations between the companies were good.
Arla Foods’ chairman Knud Erik Jensen said, “We will part as friends and it could well be that we continue our dialogue at some future stage.”
But the Danish dairy giant’s managing director, Åke Modig, has agreed to resign once a successor is found.
Prompted by the reduced dairy subsidies from Brussels, the merger was seen as a positive move for both firms, creating the world’s second largest dairy company behind Swiss giant Nestle, as well as the world’s largest dairy co-operative.
