The boards of Agrial and Terrena have proposed a merger of the two French agri-food cooperatives.
They are "studying" a deal that would, if passed by members, create a company with combined, pro-forma sales of more than €12bn ($14.15bn).
Agrial's drinks assets centre on its cider business in France, where it markets brands including Écusson and Loïc Raison.
Its drinks portfolio also includes Seattle Cider Co. in the US, French beer business Brasserie Lancelot and cola brand Breizh.
"In a context marked by repeated crises, persistent inflation, and increased competition in Europe, food has become a central issue for consumers," Agrial and Terrena said in a joint statement.
"While retail and foodservice players continue to consolidate, farmers must address several challenges to remain sustainable partners: developing production, competitiveness, generational renewal and adapting to the sustainable transition."
In March, two other French agri-food co-ops, Euralis and Maïsadour, set out plans to join forces and create an entity with a turnover of around €3bn.
In their statement, Agrial and Terrena added: "Faced with these challenges, the two solid and complementary cooperatives have decided to engage in a joint reflection on the possibility of joining forces in order to build a sustainable future for their members, their employees and consumers."
Agrial has more than 12,000 farmer members. The company operates more than 100 production sites across 11 countries, focusing on milk, vegetables, beverages and meat. It generated turnover of €7.1bn last year.
The co-op's brand portfolio includes Soignon cheese, Florette salads and Loïc Raison cider.
Terrena, with 18,000 member farms, manages brands like Tipiak and Père Dodu. The cooperative runs 80 processing sites product groups including dairy, meat, eggs and cereals. It booked a turnover of €5.6bn in 2024.
Agrial and Terrena said they will hold discussions with members and employees next year. The proposed deal will be put to a vote by the members of the co-ops at general meetings.
"This project will capitalise on the complementarity of our activities to strengthen our cooperative model around resilient animal and plant sectors and to be competitive in all market segments," the co-ops added.
"By pooling our expertise and innovation capabilities, this project will also enable us to act together to address the challenges of climate change, energy transition, healthy and sustainable food, and French food sovereignty. Given the scale of the challenges, collective responses at the regional level are essential: this is the whole purpose of this joint project."
In July, Julien Heillaut took over as Agrial’s CEO, succeeding Ludovic Spiers. Having joined from Labeyrine Fine Foods in 2018, Heillaut has led the cooperative’s vegetables division since 2020.
