Arla Foods has come a step closer to acquiring German dairy Allgäuland Käsereien.

Late last night (12 September) the members of Allgäuer Bergbauern-Milch – one of the six co-operatives that own Allgäuland-Käserien – voted in favour of joining Arla.

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The takeover process hit a bump earlier this month when Allgäuer Bergbauern-Milch was the only co-operative to vote against the proposed takeover.

Arla said the final part of the process could “fall into place” within days. The acquisition is still subject to approval by the EU competition authority.

The Danish-Swedish dairy giant said the sale will allow Allgäuland-Käserien to avert the threat of bankruptcy as the German dairy is currently in a “financially difficult situation”.

Tim Ørting Jørgensen, Arla’s executive vice president in charge of international markets, said: “We see important potential in Allgäuland-Käsereien’s cheese production. They produce excellent speciality cheeses for which there is important international potential. Some of their products will supplement the cheeses Arla already makes, among them the cheeses marketed under the House of Castello quality brand. We see great potential in Allgäuland’s products, and not only in Germany.”

Earlier this year, Arla expanded its operations in Germany when it merged with Hansa-Milch, which produces fresh dairy products in north of the country.