With the approval of the Dutch Authority Consumer & Market (ACM) secured, nothing stands in the way of Agro Care and CombiVliet proceeding with their proposed merger plans. The two tomato growers had previously announced their cooperation, marking it as the largest merger ever in Dutch greenhouse horticulture.
Notifying the ACM of a proposed merger is mandatory at certain turnover limits. Faster than expected, the regulatory body has granted its approval, which will be officially published in the Government Gazette.
The initial idea of collaborating emerged as early as 2018. Over the past 18 months, talks between Agro Care and CombiVliet have intensified. Together, the two tomato growers see more opportunities to address future challenges such as sustainability, environmental impact, and employment.
"The merger really starts now internally," says Kees van Veen, who will soon be responsible for all countries and investments in the merged company. Roy van Vliet, who will be managing director for the Netherlands, adds, "We realize it is important to involve our people in this process. We will do everything we can to engage them in the changes and our future plans. We have introduced a merger newsletter, which will answer questions and provide more information on various topics at play."
Further growth to 1,000 hectares
With the merger, the end goal has not yet been reached, according to Kees van Veen and Roy van Vliet. Expanding to an area of 1,000 hectares has been suggested as a real possibility. Agro Care already grows tomatoes in Morocco and Tunisia and collaborates with CombiVliet in a French company, while CombiVliet operates in Brazil. The emerging mega-company will also have 13 branches in the Netherlands.
For more information:
CombiVliet
Oranjepolderweg 15 
2676 CL Maasdijk
Tel: 0174 52 71 91
[email protected]
www.combivliet.nl
AgroCare
Tel: 0174526810
[email protected]
www.agrocare.nl