Himmerlands, Tican receive approval for Denmark convenience meat joint venture
New company will produce and distribute minced and marinated meat products
DENMARK – Himmerlands Food Group and Tican have received regulatory approval to establish a joint venture in Denmark to manufacture and distribute convenience meat products, following the country’s competition authority’s completion of its assessment of the proposed partnership.
The new company, named Moert, will be jointly owned by the two meat processors and will focus on producing minced and marinated meat for the market.
Under the agreement, Moert will source beef and pork ingredients primarily from Himmerlands Food Group and Tican, with the latter operating as part of Germany-based Premium Food Group.
As part of the transaction, Himmerlands will transfer the section of its business responsible for supplying smaller retail meat cuts to the newly created venture, allowing Moert to take over those activities.
Competition review
In its decision, Denmark’s competition regulator, the Konkurrence- og Forbrugerstyrelsen (KFST), said the two companies had stated that Moert would function as an independent business rather than serving solely as an extension of its parent companies.
The regulator said the venture would be free to purchase raw materials from suppliers other than Himmerlands and Tican whenever it deems it commercially appropriate.
During the review process, Danish Crown raised concerns that the joint venture could create a risk of coordination between the two shareholders, as they would continue operating in related segments of the meat industry.
The KFST acknowledged that Himmerlands and Tican would remain active in markets connected to Moert’s operations, including the procurement of live cattle and the sale of fresh beef, even after the joint venture begins operating.
However, the competition authority concluded that the activities retained by the two companies would overlap with Moert’s business only to a limited extent and accepted the parties’ position that the venture would maintain operational independence.
The approval clears the way for Moert to begin operations as a standalone convenience-meat producer, with responsibility for manufacturing and distributing products, while retaining the ability to source supplies from a broader range of vendors if required.
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