ABP has agreed to purchase the Fane Valley share of Slaney, Irish Country Meats (ICM) and Linden Foods, subject to regulatory approval.

These factories had been run as a joint venture (JV) between ABP and Fane Valley since 2016 when ABP acquired the Allen family shares in Slaney and ICM, with Linden Foods added to the JV in a subsequent deal between ABP and Fane Valley.

Outright ownership of Slaney and ICM will move ABP ahead of Dawn as the biggest processor of beef and sheepmeat, with around 28% of the beef kill and over 40% of the sheepmeat kill in the Republic of Ireland.

ABP will be in an even stronger position in Northern Ireland with three beef factories that between them will have an estimated 40% of the NI kill. It will also have two of the three large sheepmeat factories, which between them process approximately 60% of sheep in the North.