Commission clears acquisition of Dumeco

The European Commission has approved Best Agrifund's acquisition of the Dutch slaughterhouse group Dumeco. While the transaction broadens Best Agrifund's activities in the European meat market, the Commission believes that the acquisition does not raise any competition concerns.

The Commission's market investigation focused on the markets for the purchase and processing of low risk animal by-products as well as the purchase and processing of food grade blood and bones. Best Agrifund collects all these by-products from slaughterhouses, including Dumeco, for processing, sale or destruction. As such, a vertical relationship exists between the parties.

But since Dumeco already supplies most of these products to Best Agrifund, the latter's market share would not significantly increase even in the event that Dumeco were to supply it with all of its production in this field. Furthermore, the Commission did not identify any foreclose effects either upstream, regarding the position of slaughterhouses, nor on the downstream markets for the end-use of these products.

Dumeco​ is primarily active in the Netherlands in the trade of live stock, production and sale of breeding materials, the slaughter of pigs and cattle and the processing, production and sale of meat products. Therefore it also produces abattoir by-products.

Best Agrifund, a Dutch-based company, is active mainly in Germany but also has operations in the Dutch and Belgian markets for industrial processing of abattoir by-products and carcasses and the production of gelatine. Through its subsidiary Rendac, Best Agrifund holds the sole licence from the Dutch government to process high risk animal by-products in the Netherlands.