Cheese producer St. Paul is to acquire Dutch peer Koninklijke ERU.

Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal remains subject to the approval of Dutch competition officials.

St. Paul is a business-to-business cheese manufacturer headquartered in Sint Jansteen in the Netherlands, where it has one of its two production facilities. The other is in Lokeren in Belgium. 

Koninklijke ERU is based in the Dutch city of Woerden. The company owns dairy brands such as Balans, Goudkuipje and Prestige. Its product portfolio is made of spreadable cheese and American-style single-slice cheese.

Last year, the two companies teamed up to buy cheese business Kasi Food from Lekkerkerker Food Group.

Koninklijke ERU “will remain unchanged as a brand and as an organisation in its current positioning and, where possible, will actually be strengthened” a St. Paul spokesperson told Just Food.

In a statement, St. Paul, which will take on Koninklijke ERU’s 200 employees, described the deal as “a significant milestone” that helps its “growth ambitions by strengthening its position as a market leader in the melted cheese market”.

The company said it moved for Koninklijke ERU to “produce a powerful alliance that will produce a wide range of melted cheese preparations for the consumer market, out-of-home market. and food industry”

Dieter Kuijl, the CEO of St. Paul, added: "We are determined to further develop and expand our diverse range of high-quality melted cheese products, meeting the diverse needs of consumers, out-of-home, and the food industry.”

Maurits Sandberg, the CEO of Koninklijke ERU, said the deal would give the business the opportunity “to further grow our brands and explore new markets”.