Tribunal approves Fairfield Dairy acquisition of Ladismith Cheese with public interest conditions
The Competition Tribunal has approved, with conditions, a merger in which Fairfield Dairy (Pty) Ltd (“Fairfield”) will acquire the entire issued share capital of Ladismith Cheese Company (Pty) Ltd (“Ladismith Cheese”). Following implementation, Ladismith Cheese will be solely controlled by Fairfield and by extension, its controller, Woodlands Dairy (Pty) Ltd (“Woodlands”).
The approval is subject to conditions aimed at promoting historically disadvantaged persons (“HDPs”), small and medium-sized enterprises (“SMEs”) and workers. In terms of these conditions, Fairfield has committed to increasing the merged entity’s annual spend on enterprise and supplier development and related initiatives.
Fairfield forms part of a group active in the processing, production, packaging and sale of dairy and dairy-related products, supplying house brands for major retailers and its own “First Choice” range across retail and non-retail channels. Its product offering includes fresh milk, flavoured milk, yoghurt-based drinks, yoghurt, butter, cream, cheese and amasi.
Ladismith Cheese, currently controlled by Cape Harvest Food Group (Pty) Ltd, a subsidiary of Sea Harvest Group Ltd, produces and sells cheese, butter and powdered milk products into retail and non-retail channels in South Africa.