Danone is selling its stake in Lifeway Foods, drawing a line under its long-running and sometimes strained relationship with the US kefir maker.
The French giant, which invested in Lifeway in 1999, holds around 22.7% of the company
Two years ago, Danone tabled takeover offers for Lifeway, which the business rejected. In a statement to Just Food today (18 May), a Danone spokesperson said: “Following extensive discussions with Lifeway Foods and having explored all options regarding our existing holding, we decided not to pursue the acquisition of the company. “We have now entered into an agreement to sell our stake in Lifeway Foods. This decision does not change our strategic focus on delivering high quality, healthy plant based and dairy products to American consumers.” In a separate statement on Thursday (14 May), Lifeway said Danone has priced a secondary underwritten public offering of 3,454,756 Lifeway shares at $19.50 each.
The offering is expected to close tomorrow (19 May), subject to customary conditions. Lifeway said the offering consists entirely of shares sold by Danone and that the US company will not receive any proceeds. In the statement, Lifeway said it has agreed to repurchase about $5m worth of the shares at the same price paid by investors, although that buyback is conditional on the offering closing.