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Mengniu to bid on France's Yoplait

By Cai Muyuan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-12-10 17:43

An official from Mengniu, one of China's largest dairy brands, confirmed the company will bid for the purchase of Yoplait, 21st Century Business Herald reported on Friday.

The sale of the French dairy manufacturer draws interest from a wide range of players such as Lactalis from France, General Mills from the US, the Swiss brand Nestle and Grupo Lala from Mexico, the newspaper reported.

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Founded in 1964, Yoplait is the second largest dairy producer in the world, with 9 percent of the industry's global market share. Yoplait's owners -- French private equity group PAI and dairy cooperative Sodiaal -- each holds 50 percent of Yoplait's shares, according to the news report.

France's Lactalis offered 1.3 billion euro (about $1.76 billion) for Yoplait, which is ten times the yogurt company’s operating profits. But that offer was rejected last month, according to Bloomberg.

Based on Yoplait's offer, Mengniu will have to outbid Lactalis for 50 percent of Yoplait's shares, the newspaper reported.

The companies interested in purchasing Yoplait are expected to enter a formal process for acquisition later this month, according to the report