Arla Foods had decided not to press forward on its non-binding bid made in September for Egyptian cheesemaker Arab Dairy Products Company, which has the seventh largest share in the Egyptian cheese market, after a period of due diligence. After tabling its offer of US$9.09 per share in order to investigate the Cairo-based company more closely, Arla has decided not to further its interests, but states that Egypt remains a major country of interest for the company and it is pursuing alternative actions to enter the market. Egyptian cheese sales are forecast by Euromonitor to increase from US$843 million in 2014 to US$1.37 billion by 2019, and Egypt’s overall dairy market is expected to grow from US$2.1 billion in 2014 to US$4.77 billion by 2019. Arla’s retraction now leaves France’s Lactalis as the front runner to acquire Arab Dairy after a coalition of Middle Eastern Lactalis businesses bid US$9.23 per share last month for the company, outbidding previous bids by Cairo-based private equity firm Pioneer Holdings and Saudi Arabia-based Arrow Food Distribution.
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