The merger between Arla Foods and EGM Walhorn has been approved by the cooperative owners in both companies, and will add more dairy farmers to Arla in Belgium, Germany, and Holland.

The decision comes one and a half months after the two cooperatives' board of directors presented a merger proposal which has since been debated in the two owner groups.

"We are delighted to welcome the new dairy farmers to our group of owners. Arla is a bigger business than Walhorn, but we have exactly the same desire to be part of a cooperative that enables us to grow and develop our farms. Some of Walhorn's owners are already neighbours of Arla farmers, so in every way it feels like a natural step to merge with our colleagues at Walhorn," said chairman of Arla Foods, Åke Hantoft.

Following the merger, Arla will have 13,500 cooperative members. For the first time, Arla will have members in the Netherlands, resulting in Arla having owners in seven different northern European countries.

"We see this merger as a vote of confidence on the part of Walhorn's dairy farmers and we are convinced that the merger will lead to a mutually beneficial partnership. At Arla, we have made a point in recent years of informing our members that they are the very core of Arla's business foundation and that we are ready to buy all the milk they are able to produce – also when European milk quotas disappear. This message has been warmly received by Walhorn's owners," said Peder Tuborgh, Arla's chief executive officer.

The merger will impact Arla's access to raw milk in Germany and Belgium for the dairies in Pronsfeld, Germany and Nijkerk in the Netherlands.

The merger, which must now be approved by the national competition authorities, is expected to go into effect in the summer.