Goodman Fielder moves to acquire River Mill

Goodman Fielder applies for clearance to acquire River Mill Bakeries

The Commerce Commission has received an application from Goodman Fielder Limited (Goodman Fielder) seeking clearance to acquire the flour and bread assets of River Mill Bakeries Limited (River Mill Bakeries).

Goodman Fielder is listed on both the Australian and New Zealand stock exchanges and is involved in the manufacture and supply of a wide range of ingredients and food products. The operations relevant to the application for clearance are its New Zealand bakery and flour mill operations. Goodman Fielder's bread brands include: Vogel's, Quality Bakers, Country Split, Freyas, Molenburg, Sunny Crust, MacKenzie, Nature's Fresh and Golden Bake. Its flour mills are situated in Mount Maunganui and Christchurch.

River Mill Bakeries is an independent, privately-owned bread and ingredients manufacturer based in Huntly. It manufactures bread, small goods, pizza bases, frozen goods and cookies as well as importing and distributing a variety of food products. River Mill's bread brands are River Mill, Sun Raised and Millstone, and it produces house brands for Mad Butcher and Export Meats. River Mill Bakeries also owns Canterbury Flour Mills Limited in Ashburton.

In considering the application, the Commission's role is to determine whether the acquisition has the effect of substantially lessening competition in a market.

A public version of the application will shortly be available on the Commission's website http://www.comcom.govt.nzunder Public Registers.

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