National Dairy Holdings buys Marigold, Crowley Foods

Compiled by the staff of Cheese Market News

DALLAS — Koninklijke Wessanen nv has announced it will sell Marigold Foods, Minneapolis, and Crowley Foods, Binghamton, N.Y., to National Dairy Holdings, based here, for $400 million. Wessanen has cited a wish to focus on its natural, health and specialty foods operations as the reason behind the divestment.

The combined annual sales of Marigold and Crowley amounted to about $1 billion in 2000, Wessanen officials say. The boards of both Wessanen and National Dairy Holdings have approved the transactions, which are subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals.

National Dairy Holdings is the newly-announced joint venture between Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) and former Suiza Foods executives Tracy Noll and Tex Beshears as well as Allen Meyer, who was joint owner with DFA of the Valley Rich plant in Roanoke, Va., which also now is part of the joint venture.

"We're elated," says National Dairy Holdings President and COO Tracy Noll. "We think this is an auspicious start for National Dairy Holdings."

Both Marigold and Crowley manufacture a full line of dairy products, including Heluva Good and Maggio cheese. Noll says National Dairy Holdings does not intend to make major changes to the product offerings of the companies.

The transactions are expected to be completed during the second quarter of 2001, Noll adds. CMN

Other top stories in this week's issue of Cheese Market News:

• Panelists discuss MPC's role in standardizing milk for cheese
• Government doesn't protect processors against FMD ruin
• Milk production drops 2 percent in March
• Cheese auction sets new record

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