Background
      
            

On 19 June 2023, the Avril group, a specialist in vegetable oils and proteins known to the general public for its Lesieur and Puget brands, notified the Autorité de la concurrence of its plan to acquire sole control of Axéréal Elevage.



Through the transaction, the Avril group, via its subsidiary Sander, which specialises in the production and marketing of livestock feed, will acquire all the Axéréal group’s animal nutrition activities. 



At the end of its investigation, the Autorité has today cleared the transaction without conditions.
      
      

                
          
        
            Parties to the transaction



The Avril group is an international agro-industrial operator mainly active in the animal nutrition sector, both upstream, with its oilseed crushing activities (production of vegetable oils and oil cakes) and downstream, with the production and marketing of complete feeds and complementary feeds for livestock via Sanders. The group is also active in the production of live animals to be slaughtered and sold to abattoirs.



Axéréal Élevage mainly operates nine complete livestock feed production plants, most of them located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Centre-Val de Loire regions. It produces and collects live poultry for slaughter and is currently owned by the Axéréal agrifood cooperative group.

The Autorité ruled out any risk of harm to competition from the transaction in the markets concerned



The Autorité considered that the transaction was not likely to affect competition through either horizontal or vertical effects.



Following a careful examination, during which the Autorité consulted the competitors and customers of the parties, the Autorité did not identify any anticompetitive risks in the main markets in which the parties compete, namely the markets for the production and marketing of complete livestock feeds, on the one hand, and the markets for the collection of live poultry for slaughter, on the other.



The Autorité also examined the market for the production and marketing of oil cakes for possible vertical effects in the context of the transaction, given the presence of the Avril group on the market. Any risk of foreclosure of access to customers or inputs was ruled out.



The Autorité therefore cleared the transaction without conditions.
      
      
      

                
          
  
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            Nicola Crawford
      
      
            Communication officer
      
    
    
      
            +33155040151
      
      
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Autorité de la concurrence Approves Avril Group's Acquisition of Axéréal Elevage

The Avril group, known for its vegetable oils and proteins under brands like Lesieur and Puget, sought to acquire Axéréal Elevage, a player in livestock feed production. The Autorité de la concurrence has cleared the transaction without imposing any conditions.

Avril's subsidiary Sander will take over Axéréal's animal nutrition activities, including livestock feed production plants and live poultry collection. The Autorité's investigation found no competition concerns in the markets for livestock feeds, live poultry collection, or oil cakes.



Autorité de la concurrence Approves Avril Group's Acquisition of Axéréal Elevage

The French competition authority has approved the Avril group's acquisition of sole control of Axéréal Elevage, a move that consolidates the animal nutrition activities of both companies.