French multinational food giant, Danone, has today announced that it has entered into a binding agreement with another French-owned multinational food group, Lactalis, to sell one of its US dairy subsidiaries – Stonyfield.
The purchase price, according to Danone, is $875 million (€769.74 million) – which is 20 times the value of the subsidiary’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA).
The deal forms part of Danone’s agreement at the end of March with the US Department of Justice regarding Danone’s acquisition of WhiteWave Foods (an American consumer packaged food and drink company).
According to the company, the closing of the divestiture is subject to customary conditions, including final approval by the US Department of Justice, and is expected in the third quarter of this year.
Stonyfield is an organic yogurt maker based in Londonderry, New Hampshire. Initially established as an organic farming school in 1983, the company today produces a large range of yogurts including ‘Oh my Yog!’, ‘0% Fat Greek’, ‘100% Grassfed’, and ‘Fruit on the Bottom’.
Danone is a global food company with multiple international brands. Based on four business-lines of ‘essential dairy and plant-based products’, ‘early life nutrition’, ‘waters’, and ‘medical nutrition’, the company made a turnover of €22 billion in 2016.
Founded in 1933, Lactalis has 75,000 employees globally and has an annual turnover of €17 billion.