Danone to acquire WhiteWave in $12.5 billion deal
French multinational food company Danone said Thursday it reached a deal to acquire organic food manufacturer WhiteWave Food Co. for $12.5 billion, growing its hold on the U.S. market .
Danone says the it will pay $56.25 per share for the company, approximately 24 percent over WhiteWave’s average stock price during the last month. The all-cash transaction includes debt and other liabilities. Danone expects to close on the deal by the end of the year.
Denver-based WhiteWave generated $4 billion in sales in 2015. It’s portfolio of products include organic dairy, non-GMO and plant based alternatives to milk and yogurt such as Horizon Organic and Silk.
“At Danone, we constantly seek to align our vision of the world, our mission and our businesses: we believe we have a special responsibility, as expressed in our Manifesto, to help and support people in adopting healthier and more sustainable eating and drinking practices and constantly evolve our portfolio of brands and products to achieve this objective. To that extent, we found in WhiteWave the perfect alliance as we both believe in a healthier future and are conscious of our power to lead society forward”, says Emmanuel Faber, Danone CEO. “This unique combination positions us better to address tomorrow’s consumer trends and represents a great opportunity to step change the ambition of our plan for an alimentation revolution and to accelerate our path towards strong sustainable and profitable growth by 2020. It will allow us to enhance Danone’s growth profile and reinforce our resilience through a broader platform in North America.”
Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!
