ANGLO Beef Processors (ABP) is to acquire Bertram Allen's family’s 50% stake in Slaney Foods for an undisclosed sum in a multi-million euro deal.

ABP is set to take a 50% stake in Slaney Foods, the parent company of both Slaney Meats and Irish Country Meats (ICM), in what would be a major move within the Irish meat processing industry.

Slaney Foods is a joint venture formed in 2000 between Linden Foods, a northern Irish meat processor, and the Allen family, the original founders of the Slaney company. ABP will acquire the Allen family’s 50% stake in Slaney, creating a new partnership with Linden.

Slaney currently accounts for about 6% of the national cattle kill while ICM processes 40% of the Irish sheep kill. The acquisition will see ABP move into sheep slaughtering in the Republic of Ireland for the first time in years.

No fee has been disclosed, while the deal is subject to clearance by the competition authority according to The Irish Farmers Journal.