The EU Commission has approved the takeover of the sausage manufacturer Rügenwalder Mühle. The new owner Pfeifer & Langen has so far primarily stood for sugar and potato chips. He doesn’t want to cut any jobs.
The food company Pfeifer & Langen, which includes Diamant Zucker and funny-frisch, is allowed to take over the well-known sausage manufacturer Rügenwalder Mühle. The EU Commission announced that the majority stake did not raise any competition concerns. The takeover plans had already become known at the end of November.
The Cologne family holding company Pfeifer & Langen has not yet provided any information about the amount. Rügenwalder Mühle will remain as a brand and company, and there are no plans to cut jobs, a company spokesman told the dpa news agency in November. The current management should also remain in office.
“Clear the way for coming together”
“With the official approval of the investment, the way is clear for the two family companies to merge,” the companies said in a joint statement. Rügenwalder Mühle will be organizationally linked to “The Nature’s Richness Group” at Pfeifer & Langen. This holding pools all activities relating to the production of meat and fish alternatives from plant protein.
According to the EU Commission, the takeover is particularly concerned with the processing and preservation of meat substitute products. Among other things, the authority ensures that there is fair competition in the EU and that companies do not have a monopoly position and can thus dictate prices.
Vegan and vegetarian since 2014
In addition to the sugar manufacturer of the same name, Pfeifer & Langen Industrie- und Handels-KG includes brands such as funny-frisch and Chio Chips, the Krüger Group (Kaba, Schogetten) and the vegan food start-up Endori. The company, founded in Cologne in 1870, is one of the largest sugar manufacturers in Europe and has more than 2,500 employees. According to the company’s own information, sales in 2022 were around 1.33 billion euros.
Rügenwalder Mühle was founded in 1834 in Rügenwalde (today Darlowo), Pomerania, and moved its headquarters to Lower Saxony after the Second World War. The company employs around 1,000 people. Since the end of 2014, the company has been producing vegetarian and vegan products in addition to classic sausages.