Vion finds buyer again for large German slaughterhouse

After the announced sale of the locations in Crailsheim and Waldkraiburg, Vion has now also found a buyer for the cattle slaughterhouse in Buchloe in Bavaria. The Irish family business ABP Food Group is taking over the activities, provided the German regulator agrees to this. The production site in Buchloe processes around 90,000 cattle annually and employs about 270 people. It is therefore one of the largest cattle slaughterhouses in Europe, located in an area with many cattle. It mainly slaughters Fleckvieh, which many dairy farmers in southern Germany keep. The sale comes as no surprise, because Vion had already announced that there was a lot of interest in this location and that it was looking for the best possible partner. So that has become ABP, a Irish company with annual revenue of more than €5 billion. In addition to locations in Ireland, the company is also active in the UK and on the European mainland, including the Netherlands. In 2021 it also acquired Groothedde Vaassen, a wholesaler in beef and pork. CEO Tjarda Klimp indicates that a buyer has again been found. This third agreement is the result of a careful and complex process. The expectation is that the German regulator will give its approval for the deal within a few months. After delays at the start, Vion's German exit strategy is now taking shape quite rapidly with the sale of three locations in a short time. For locations in Memmingen and Eching-Weixerau, where leather is produced from hides, Vion is still exploring options.