The Irish Competition Authority has approved Glanbia's deal to take over the CMP liquid milk, cream and juice business from Dairygold Co-Operative Society. The agreement is worth just over €10m.
Glanbia first announced the move at the beginning of February and it resulted in the loss of about 100 jobs at Dairygold's CMP plants in Cork and Mallow.
Under the deal, Dairygold's 130 milk suppliers will continue to supply Dairygold, and Dairygold will sell the 6.15 million gallon liquid milk pool on to Glanbia.
The two companies also said in February that they had agreed, in principle, to enter into a contract manufacturing arrangement for elements of their respective milk processing activities.
Under the terms of this agreement, Dairygold will supply a volume of cream to Glanbia every year, beginning this year, for the manufacture of Dairygold butter and butter oil at Glanbia's Ballyragget butter production plant. Glanbia will also purchase whey from Dairygold for processing.
Glanbia will then give Dairygold a volume of milk for manufacturing into Glanbia dairy products at Dairygold's Mitchelstown plants, from 2006 onwards.
