France clears Euralis-Maïsadour cooperative merger with duck divestments
What's the deal? France's Autorité de la concurrence has cleared the merger of agricultural cooperative groups Euralis and MaïsadourDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, subject to three sets of commitments. The transaction combines all operations of the two south-west France groups, which together represent more than 10,000 member farmers.
Who's involved? Euralis, headquartered in Lescar, brings together around 5,300 member farmers across fattened duck, crop production and animal nutrition. Maïsadour, based in Haut-Mauco, has some 5,000 members and is active in fattened duck, poultry, aquaculture and crop production.
Why the conditions? The regulator found the combined entity's position in fattened duck products — notably foie gras and duck breast — risked price increases for consumers in retail and foodservice. It also flagged that farmers could be left without alternative buyers for cereal, oilseed and protein crops, or feed sources.
What changes? The parties must transfer production of at least 2 million fattened ducks to competitors by July 17, 2031. They have divested Canadour, a fattened duck producer, and the foodservice brand Sarrade, and agreed to ease competitors' acquisition of member-owned farms, including removing penalties for exiting membership contracts.
The deal follows the groups' decision in August 2023 to withdraw an earlier plan to create a joint venture combining only their fattened duck operations.
What they're saying: "The transaction shows that, with concrete, targeted and tailored commitments, agricultural cooperatives can merge, while preserving the effective functioning of competition across the entire agricultural and agri-food value chain," said Benoît Cœuré, president of the Autorité de la concurrence.
The signal: The clearance signals that regulators will allow agricultural cooperatives to consolidate — provided they carve out capacity to keep both consumers and member farmers with real alternatives.
Read more: Autorité de la concurrence
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