The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) says work is ongoing in assessing the proposed merger between Tipperary and Arrabawn Co-Operatives. The Commission began examining the merger on 14 November 2024 and normally would have issued a decision within 30 days. The Commission found it necessary to request further information from both organisations and this information was supplied on January 10th 2025. The decision is now expected later this month with the two applicants informed first and then the decision will be made public.
Under the proposed merger which has been agreed by the Boards and approved by over 93% of Milk Supplying Shareholders in both organisations, the new Co-Op will be known as Arrabawn Tipperary Co-Operative. The new merged dairy and agri-trading co-operative will be owned and controlled by over 4,800 members, with more than 1,400 farmers supplying almost 750 million litres of milk annually. The new Co-Op will have projected annual turnover exceeding €700 million and is expected to make both organisations more sustainable with a more diverse product range. The merger is hugely beneficial for Tipperary Co-Op which faced financial challenges due to borrowings of €55M in a period of increasing interest rates.
The application can be viewed on the CCPC website at this link here.
