Tönnies hands over German Vion locations to Westfleisch

A strange turn of events has occurred in the sales process for the remaining three German locations of Vion. Tönnies is willing to abort the deal on the condition that competitor Westfleisch buys the locations. In principle, the deal between Tönnies and Vion was all set to go for the beef slaughterhouses in Buchloe and Waldkraiburg and the combined beef and pig slaughterhouse in Crailsheim. However, in June, the German cartel office put a stop to this. The comment from the regulator was that Tönnies' influence in Southern Germany would become too great. Initially, Tönnies did not back down, and the company appealed. Vion decided to wait for that process and continue the operations themselves in the meantime. In the meantime, Westfleisch identified itself via the media as a potential buyer. German media report that Tönnies withdrew as a buyer yesterday. This happened in a remarkable way. At a German agricultural congress, Clemens Tönnies openly stated that he is willing to withdraw as a buyer if Westfleisch becomes the new buyer. Remarkably, Westfleisch director Wilhelm Uffelmann was also on the panel with him. If you promise here that you will take over the three factories, we will terminate the contract with Vion immediately, said Tönnies. Then we'll do that, responded the CEO of Westfleisch in public. Later that evening, Uffelmann informed the German Handelsblatt that he intends to work with Vion on an affordable solution that should benefit farmers in Bavaria. Vion seems to be taken by surprise by the situation and announced yesterday afternoon in a brief press release that discussions have taken place with Tönnies in recent days and that other parties can now come forward to take over the three slaughter locations. The company claims that multiple interested parties have reached out. The company does not want to comment further on this when asked. In the company’s internal publication for Germany, ProAgrar, top executive Tjarda Klimp indicated last summer that a longer stay in Germany is not excluded.