Gleiss Lutz with DMK on cross-border merger with Arla (Denmark)

A Gleiss Lutz team is advising DMK Group, Germany’s largest dairy cooperative consisting of Deutsches Milchkontor eG (DMK) and the Dutch Drents Overijsselse Coöperatie Kaas U.A. (DOC), on its cross-border merger with the largest European dairy cooperative, Arla Foods amba (Arla) based in Denmark. The aim of the transaction is to combine the three cooperatives by merging DMK and DOC into a European cooperative (so-called SCE) and subsequently merging it with Arla. The merged entity will be named Arla, with headquarters in Viby J, Denmark, and aims for a combined revenue of 19 billion euros per year.

Dr. Stephan Aubel (Partner, Frankfurt) and Martin Hitzer (Partner, Düsseldorf, both Corporate and Capital Markets Law, BOTH PICTURED LEFT AND RIGHT) are leading the team from Gleiss Lutz, which is also composed of: Dr. Julius-Vincent Ritz (Corporate/M&A, Stuttgart), Dr. Charlotte Evers (, Düsseldorf), Dr. Christina Aye (Counsel, Frankfurt), Dr. Thorsten Gayk (Counsel, Hamburg), Dr. Walter Andert (all Corporate, Berlin), Dr. Ocka Stumm (Partner), Dr. Dominik Monz, Julian Kettemer (all Tax, all Frankfurt), Dr. Wolfgang Bosch (Partner), Dr. Alexander Fritzsche (Partner), Dr. Birgit Colbus (Counsel), Dr. Juliane Langguth, Dr. Thomas Bernhard (all Frankfurt), Mario Meinzer (all Competition/Antitrust, Stuttgart), Dr. Thomas Winzer (Partner), Dr. Tobias Abend (Counsel, both Employment, both Frankfurt), Dr. Jacob von Andreae (Partner), Aylin Hoffs (Counsel, both Foreign Trade Law, both Düsseldorf).

A team from Stibbe advises DMK Group on Dutch law, and Gorrissen Federspiel is involved for Danish law.

DMK, which already operates its business jointly with DOC as DMK Group, has approximately 4,600 members and nearly 6,800 employees. At more than 20 locations across 10 countries, DMK Group processes around 5.3 billion kilograms of milk annually and is one of the most important suppliers in the German retail food market. DMK Group includes well-known brands such as MILRAM, Oldenburger and Humana. DMK Group’s revenue amounted to 5.1 billion euros in 2024.

Arla has approximately 7,600 members across several European countries that produced 13.7 billion kilograms of milk last year. Its revenue amounted to 13.8 billion euros in 2024. It employs around 23,000 people on 58 sites in more than 30 countries.

The responsible corporate bodies of all parties approved the conclusion of the business combination agreement at their respective meetings on June 18, 2025. The completion of the transaction is still subject to customary conditions, in particular the granting of the required regulatory clearances.