Nordic Business Report-January 22, 2007-Arla Foods Amba makes recommended cash offer for outstanding 49% of Arla Foods UK Plc (C)1994-2007 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD http://www.m2.com Swedish-Danish dairy group Arla Foods Amba announced on Monday (22 January) that it has made a recommended offer for all remaining shares of its United Kingdom subsidiary Arla Foods UK Plc. Arla Foods, which currently owns 51% of the share capital of Arla Foods UK, is offering GBP0.71 per share in cash, which represents a premium of 22.4%. The offer values Arla Foods UK at GBP434.5m. The offer is in line with a preliminary information released on 15 January. "Outright ownership will ensure that the business of Arla Foods UK derives the full benefits of being part of the largest dairy business in Europe and will enable us to strengthen the relationship with UK dairy farmers. At the same time, [Arla Foods Groups] global strategy will significantly benefit from the full integration of its UK subsidiary into the [Arla Foods Group]," said Peder Tuborgh, CEO of Arla Foods. Arla Foods UK is the UKs leading dairy company with some 5,500 employees and an annual turnover of GBP1.3bn. The company operates seven dairies and nine distribution centres in the UK. Arla Foods is a cooperative owned by some 10,600 milk producers in Denmark and Sweden. The group is Europes second largest dairy company with a turnover of some DKK46bn. The groups largest market is the UK, which accounts for some 33% of the total turnover. One British pound (GBP) is worth approximately 11.07 Danish kroner (DKK). ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected]))