
Delayed by a federal antitrust lawsuit, French-based Lactalis completed its $3.3 billion acquisition of Kraft Heinz’s natural cheese business Monday and launched a Chicago office to run it.
The acquisition puts iconic cheese brands including Cracker Barrel, Breakstone, Knudsen and the entire line of Kraft brand natural and grated cheeses under the corporate umbrella of the newly formed Lactalis Heritage Dairy, which is staffed by 100 former Kraft Heinz employees at its West Loop headquarters.
Related: DOJ OKs Lactalis Kraft’s Natural Cheese Business Buy
“With this acquisition, we are advancing our growth strategy across North America and strengthening our position in the attractive U.S. cheese market,” Lactalis North America CEO Gilles Meziere said in a news release Monday.
The acquisition includes 750 former Kraft Heinz employees and three production facilities located in California, New York and Wausau, Wisconsin. As part of an agreement with the Justice Department, Lactalis is divesting of Kraft Heinz’s Athenos and Polly-O businesses.
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
UK Business Secretary Calls for More Agile Competition Regulator
Feb 13, 2025 by
CPI
Germany’s Antitrust Regulator Raises Concerns Over Apple’s App Tracking Policies
Feb 13, 2025 by
CPI
$60 Billion Nissan-Honda Merger Falls Apart
Feb 13, 2025 by
CPI
DOJ Moves to End Protections for Three Regulatory Agencies
Feb 13, 2025 by
CPI
Meta to Allow Rivals to List Ads on Facebook Marketplace Following EU Fine
Feb 13, 2025 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – International Criminal Enforcement
Jan 23, 2025 by
CPI
The Antitrust Division’s Recent Work to Combat International Cartels
Jan 23, 2025 by
Emma Burnham & Benjamin Christenson
Information Sharing: The New Frontier of U.S. Antitrust Enforcement
Jan 23, 2025 by
Brian P. Quinn, Casey Kovarik & Michael Tubach
The Key Role of Guidelines on Exchanges of Information Among Competitors and the Divergent Transatlantic Paths
Jan 23, 2025 by
Rosa Abrantes-Metz & Albert Metz
Leniency, Whistleblowers, and Compliance
Jan 23, 2025 by
Richard Powers, Tara O’Malley & Cory Gordon