Dawn Meats has welcomed today’s decision of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) to clear its acquisition of Kildare Chilling Company.

The Waterford-based premium meat processor has also announced plans to invest a total of €10 million in the newly acquired facility.

Kildare Chilling is one of the most established beef and lamb processors in the country and Dawn Meats is committed to ensuring the business is able to maintain its high-quality standards by further investing in processing facilities and delivering improved sustainability measures.

As part of the overall investment, Dawn Meats is also looking forward to widening Kildare Chilling’s customer base and supplying its products to Dawn Meats’ leading clients including key retail, food service and manufacturing businesses.

The CCPC’s decisions follows an extensive two-phase investigation process, which started in February of this year and included the opportunity for third parties to make submissions and to engage with the CCPC.

There is a low crossover of customers and suppliers between Kildare Chilling and Dawn Meats making the acquisition a good fit for both.

Niall Browne, chief executive of Dawn Meats said: We welcome this decision by the CCPC and we now look forward to completing the acquisition, which we believe will bring extensive benefits to both Dawn Meats and to Kildare Chilling. We intend to work closely with the team on site and invest significantly in Kildare Chilling to ensure the continuation of the very best standards and the highest levels of sustainability. Kildare Chilling will be a significant business within the Dawn Meats Group and its products will boost our offering to our leading supermarket, food service and manufacturing customers.

Dawn Meats has a track record of successfully acquiring, integrating and investing in processing facilities to ensure efficiency and best practice to the benefit of all stakeholders. The group has an impressive portfolio of retail, manufacturing and foodservice customers worldwide, who have enjoyed integrated supply from group companies with consistent and exacting quality standards.

We have worked closely with our family farm suppliers and promoted our world-class, Bord Bia quality-assured supply. This combination has allowed the business to grow successfully and to continue serving the world’s most discerning customers.