About

The Arla Foods’ legal function has become a valued partner to the business as it has made a significant reduction in spend on external advisors. The department has been at the forefront of several of the company’s key strategic mergers over the last few years, as it continues to expand. These advances facilitated the organisation’s rapid geographical growth and ventures into significant regions such as Belgium, Luxembourg, Holland and Germany; making Arla Foods the largest diary producer in Scandinavia. A recent fall in commodity prices resulted in the company shifting their focus from acquisitions to joint venture (JV) cooperation’s, and this affected the expertise that the legal team needed. Following mergers or JV agreements the team guarantee that the overall quality of Arla Foods remains at a high standard via the establishment of a “Post-Merger Integration” (PMI) community, designed to align strategic needs and familiarise partners with an array of daily requirements. This process is led by head of legal M&A Andreas Ilum who has additionally overseen the department’s role in the the co-creation of a joint venture guide outlining the most effective practices of the Arla Foods group and tips on how to successfully establish joint ventures.