Danone to sell Lifeway Foods stake

Danone is selling its involvement successful Lifeway Foods, drafting a enactment nether its long-running and sometimes strained narration with the US kefir maker.

The French giant, which invested successful Lifeway successful 1999, holds astir 22.7% of the company. Two years ago, Danone tabled takeover offers for Lifeway, which the concern rejected.

In a connection to Just Food contiguous (18 May), a Danone spokesperson said: “Following extended discussions with Lifeway Foods and having explored each options regarding our existing holding, we decided not to prosecute the acquisition of the company.

“We person present entered into an statement to merchantability our involvement successful Lifeway Foods. This determination does not alteration our strategical absorption connected delivering precocious quality, steadfast works based and dairy products to American consumers.”

In a abstracted connection connected Thursday (14 May), Lifeway said Danone has priced a secondary underwritten nationalist offering of 3,454,756 Lifeway shares astatine $19.50 each.

The offering is expected to adjacent time (19 May), taxable to customary conditions.

Lifeway said the offering consists wholly of shares sold by Danone and that the US institution volition not person immoderate proceeds.

In the statement, Lifeway said it has agreed to repurchase astir $5m worthy of the shares astatine the aforesaid terms paid by investors, though that buyback is conditional connected the offering closing.

Lifeway turned down 2 takeover approaches from Danone successful 2024, 1 priced astatine $25 a stock and different $27, saying the offers undervalued the concern and amounted to a “hostile takeover”.

In March past year, Danone instigated ineligible proceedings against Lifeway implicit a determination to grant CEO Julie Smolyansky with shares successful the business. Lifeway responded by saying it intended to record a counterclaim against Danone.

In August, it emerged “representatives” of Danone and Lifeway had started talks to “reset” the narration and clasp discussions implicit a “potential acquisition”.

However, a period later, Danone said it would not array different connection and would measurement up whether to merchantability its 22.7% stake. The Activia shaper said it would besides ponder whether to enactment a determination by Lifeway’s largest shareholder to regenerate the company’s board.

A period later, the 2 sides struck a co-operation deal. Lifeway agreed to “refresh” its committee and abstracted its seat and CEO roles. The businesses besides agreed to “stay” the litigation betwixt them.

In return, Danone agreed not to enactment immoderate effort to regenerate the committee earlier the extremity of June this year.

Amid the hostility betwixt Danone and Lifeway, a long-running household feud has festered astatine the US steadfast betwixt Julie Smolyansky, and her parent and brother, Ludmila and Edward Smolyansky, the company’s largest shareholders.