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Talk of Milk Industry Merger Draws Justice Dept. Scrutiny

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  • Talk of Milk Industry Merger Draws Justice Dept. Scrutiny

    Originally Teamsters.org posted an article about this from WSJ but you have to be a subscriber to read it. I was able to find another article about this today which I am using to lead up to another post on Teamsters.org this morning. Looks like this will affect teamsters.

    Antitrust officials have been investigating a potential merger of the struggling milk giant Dean Foods with Dairy Farmers of America, a marketing cooperative.

    When the struggling milk giant Dean Foods filed for bankruptcy protection in November, it also announced a possible path forward — a takeover by Dairy Farmers of America, a marketing cooperative.

    But the news that Dean Foods was in “advanced discussions” with the co-op did little to alleviate the concerns of dairy farmers. Many argued that a merger would reduce competition and suppress the price of raw milk, especially in regions where industry consolidation has made it difficult for farmers to stay in business.

    Now, federal investigators are examining those concerns. Since at least December, antitrust officials at the Justice Department have been scrutinizing the potential Dean Foods merger, speaking with farmers and the lawyers who represent them about how a deal would affect milk pricing and competition, according to emails reviewed by The New York Times and interviews with people familiar with the inquiry.
    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/29/b...stigation.html

  • #2
    Re: Talk of Milk Industry Merger Draws Justice Dept. Scrutiny

    Unfortunately this is a PDF type file that my computer is not letting me cut and paste properly so you will have to open the link to read it.

    Dean Foods Bankruptcy Update - January 31, 2020

    https://teamster.org/sites/default/f...ansfood131.pdf

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    • #3
      Re: Talk of Milk Industry Merger Draws Justice Dept. Scrutiny

      Still needs the approval of the DOJ.

      Dairy Farmers of America agrees to buy Dean Foods, America’s biggest milk producer, for $425 million

      Dairy Farmers of America announced Monday that it has agreed to buy Dean Foods, America’s largest milk producer, for $425 million.

      The dairy co-operative will also assume Dean’s liabilities as part of the deal to acquire 44 of the company’s facilities, as well as other assets.
      “We have had a relationship with DFA over the past 20 years, and we are confident in their ability to succeed in the current market and serve our customers with the same commitment to quality and service they have come to expect,” Dean Foods CEO Eric Beringause said in a statement.

      If approved by the bankruptcy court, the agreement would make the Dairy Farmers of America the stalking horse bidder, meaning that the transaction would be subject to receiving higher or better offers while the company is in bankruptcy. The company is also talking with other buyers interested in plants and assets not included in the deal with the co-op.
      https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/17/dair...5-million.html

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      • #4
        Re: Talk of Milk Industry Merger Draws Justice Dept. Scrutiny

        A PDF file which does not cut and past well.

        Dean Foods Bankruptcy Update:

        https://teamster.org/sites/default/f...ansfood313.pdf

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        • #5
          Re: Talk of Milk Industry Merger Draws Justice Dept. Scrutiny

          Another Dean Foods bankruptcy update, March 30, 2020.

          In addition to everything we and the world are facing with the coronavirus
          pandemic, this week and the month of April is going to be trying for the
          workers and Teamster members at Dean Foods. We are doing everything
          possible to provide some certainty in these unprecedented times.
          In our last update, Friday, March 13, we wrote about the procedures and
          timeline for any interested parties to purchase all or parts of Dean to submit
          bids by Monday, March 30. The bids are due to the court by 1 p.m. (eastern
          time) and are expected to be made public at some point thereafter. Dean will
          then review the bids and inform the court of which bid or bids have been
          deemed the “winner” by midnight Monday (central daylight time). The court
          is then scheduled to hold a hearing on Friday, April 3 to decide whether to
          approve the winning bids.
          https://teamster.org/sites/default/f..._pdf_onlyb.pdf
          Last edited by fxstc07; 03-30-2020, 08:37 PM.

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          • #6
            Re: Talk of Milk Industry Merger Draws Justice Dept. Scrutiny

            Another update concerning Dean Foods, dated April 1, 2020.
            This covers the winning bidders on the companies assets.

            https://teamster.org/sites/default/f...dateapril1.pdf

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            • #7
              Re: Talk of Milk Industry Merger Draws Justice Dept. Scrutiny

              Dean Foods Bankruptcy Update, April 6, 2020
              April 6, 2020 - The following update is focused only on those local unions bid on by Dairy Farmers of America (DFA). A separate update for the local unions involved with the Prairie Farms bid will be published soon.

              As you know, Dean Foods filed for bankruptcy in late 2019. Since that time, your Union has been in numerous discussions with Dean to determine if there was any way to save the company. The company did not respond in earnest until the last month, as we believe it had no intention of attempting to operate as a standalone business, or even the ability to do so. In fact, Dean has been so poorly managed, Dean’s advisors have stated in the bankruptcy court that Dean will run out of cash in the near future, and cease doing business in all areas. Dean management was focused on only one path to escape their failing company – a sale of assets to one or more buyers. Once potential buyers started to appear, Dean began to act as the surrogate for them and started to make contract proposals to gut your contracts in order to make the sale of their facilities more attractive. These proposals were really on behalf of the potential buyers, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) and Prairie Farms (PF), two dairy companies that our Union has contracts with across the nation.

              Their proposal included the stripping of all health and welfare plans, discontinuing all participation and contributions to pension plans, wage freezes, and other changes that were devastating to your contracts. Additionally, the bankruptcy statutes give the company the right to go to court and terminate your entire union contract. Obviously, this was something that we wanted to prevent, and so far we have been successful in doing so. In an effort to ensure we would have an ability to negotiate with a purchaser, all the Local Unions involved in the potential purchase by DFA voted to form a National Negotiating Committee. We have been involved in intensive negotiations with DFA since the bids were made public March 31st.
              https://teamster.org/news/2020/04/de...e-april-6-2020

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              • #8
                Re: Talk of Milk Industry Merger Draws Justice Dept. Scrutiny

                More news on the Dean Foods bankruptcy.

                Teamster Members Vote To Approve Agreements That Facilitate Purchase Of Bankrupt Dean Foods
                A majority of Teamsters currently working in the dairy industry for Dean Foods have voted to approve agreements with Dairy Farmers of America and Prairie Farms that preserve jobs, wages, health insurance, and in some cases, pensions and/or retirement savings plans for thousands at dairies and distribution depots across the country.

                The long-troubled and poorly-managed Dean Foods filed for bankruptcy in early November 2019, jeopardizing almost five thousand Teamster jobs at the many regional dairies it had purchased over the years. Two major companies, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) and Prairie Farms (PF), stepped forward to bid on large portions of the failing Dean production and distribution facilities. As a condition of the purchase, those companies required some modifications to the existing collective bargaining agreements which were approved by Teamster members in a vote count today. The membership approvals satisfy one condition of the sales transactions scheduled to be finalized by May 1, 2020 at the latest.

                Teamsters covered by the DFA group of assets total 3,330 and voted 82 percent to approve. Teamsters covered by the PF group of assets total 536 and voted by 96 percent to approve.
                https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...301046358.html

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                • #9
                  Re: Talk of Milk Industry Merger Draws Justice Dept. Scrutiny

                  More news on the Dean Foods bankruptcy.

                  Dean Foods sells Hawaii business, Teamster members approve DFA and Prairie Farms deals
                  A majority of Teamsters union members currently working in the dairy industry for Dean Foods Company have voted to approve agreements with Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) and Prairie Farms.
                  https://www.dairyreporter.com/Articl...aign=copyright

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