|
|
Danone makes surprise bid for Numico |
 |
+ |
- |
08:21, July 11, 2007 |
French food group Danone has offered to buy Dutch baby food manufacturer Numico with a surprise bid of more than 12 billion euros, Dutch paper Financiele Dagblad reported Tuesday.
This is 38 percent more than Numico was worth on the stock exchange last Friday. The takeover would make Danone one of the major players in the fast-growing baby food industry. But some analysts say the price is too high.
Danone and Numico announced the news after the market closed on Monday after the Dutch Financial Markets Authority (AFM) had suspended trade in Numico shares in the middle of the day. Numico's share price soared by more than 10 percent in unusually high volumes.
According to senior Danone executive Franck Riboud, negotiations took off last weekend and the main points of the takeover bid were concluded on Monday morning.
The board and the supervisory board of Numico have approved the offer. Numico Chief Executive Officer Jan Bennink and Chief Financial Officer Jean-Marc Huet will resign.
Bennink said on Monday that this is a "very fair price." The bid will be considered final if two-thirds of the Numico shareholders agree.
Danone's shareholders do not have to approve the takeover. Nor does Riboud expect any objections from the competition authorities. Danone only manufactures baby food for the French market.
Numico is the world's second largest manufacturer of baby food after Nestle. Numico is growing faster than Danone and its turnover has been growing by 10 to 12 percent annually in recent years.
Numico will remain independent within Danone, with a head office at Schiphol and its own research laboratory at Wageningen. It will become the third branch of the French food company alongside Evian (water) and Danone (dairy products).
Riboud believes the company has considerable potential in the emerging markets of central Europe and Asia, where Numico is well represented.
Nestle recently reinforced its baby food division with the acquisition of Gerber which is active on the US market.
Source: Xinhua
|
|
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article