Arla Foods amba set to buy remaining shares

Arla Foods amba, the Scandinavian, farmer-owned parent company of Arla Foods UK, could be on the verge of buying the 49% of the business it does not already own.

Shares in Arla Foods UK rose over 12% to 65p on 20 October when it was announced discussions were ongoing. 

They were still climbing as Farmers Weekly went to press on Wednesday valuing the company at £418m.

Jonathan Ovens, chairman of the Arla Foods Milk Partnership, which owns 5-6% of Arla Foods, said a deal should be good news for farmers.

Tom Hind, NFU chief dairy adviser, said, on balance, such a move should be positive but it could depend on how the company would be structured.