The second biggest cheese company in the Netherlands, dairy cooperative DOC Kaas, is being taken over by German dairy giant DMK, the Financieele Dagblad says. Hundreds of DOC Kaas members voted in favour of the move at a special meeting on Thursday afternoon.
The takeover was first mooted three years ago but there was little support, the FD says. The merged group will have annual sales of some €6bn. DOC Kaas will be a fully-fledged DMK subisidary with its own identity and name.
The Dutch market leader, FrieslandCampina, has international sales of some €11bn a year. DOC Kaas hopes the move will facilitate a boost in exports. The cooperative, formed in 1895, has some 1,100 members who produce 125,000 tonnes of cheese a year.
The company sells its cheese under label Dutch Original Cheese and produces own brand products for supermarkets.
