The two biggest flower auctions in the world, Flora Holland and Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer (both Dutch), are set to merge, according to the Financieele Dagblad which quotes company sources.

A formal announcement is expected later today. Flora Holland booked turnover of €2 bn last year, while Aalsmeer’s sales totalled €1.7 bn. Flora director Jacques Teelen will lead the new combine, the paper reports.
Teelen has already led a successful merger of five flower auctions which created Flora Holland. Flora then overtook Aalsmeer as the world’s biggest flower in terms of sales. The aim of the merger is to cut costs.