The co-operative merger, signed on 1 June 2026, will unite 11,200 dairy farmers and 28,800 employees under Europe’s largest dairy cooperative, with the headquarter in Viby J, Denmark. The milk pool created by this merger is roughly 20 billion kilogram, which will stabilise a constant flow of dairy products for consumers in Europe and abroad.
DMK Group, Germany’s largest dairy cooperative, similarly benefits from this merger through enhanced market access and operational synergies that arise from combining two significant players in the industry.
Arla Foods is an international dairy company owned by more than 7,600 farmers from Denmark, Sweden, the UK, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Arla Foods is one of the leading players in the international dairy arena with well-known brands like Arla®, Lurpak®, Puck® and Castello®. Arla Foods is focused on providing good dairy nourishment from sustainable farming and operations and is also the world’s largest manufacturer of organic dairy products.
The merged entity will carry the Arla name. Headquarters will be placed in Viby J in Denmark and Jan Toft Nørgaard will be chair. Peder Tuborgh will be CEO, and Ingo Müller will step into the Arla executive management team as EVP of post-merger integration.