Dive Brief:
- Danone is no longer pursuing an acquisition of kefir maker Lifeway Foods, the dairy giant said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Oikos maker also is reviewing options for its roughly 23% stake in Lifeway, which could include a sale.
- Danone decided not to move forward with a buyout because it didn’t believe the two companies could work together effectively, according to Barrons. The yogurt maker will instead explore opportunities within its existing brands.
- Danone proposed buying Lifeway in September 2024 for $25 a share before increasing the offer to $27 two months later. Lifeway rejected both proposals, saying Danone undervalued the Illinois company.
Dive Insight:
Danone has been a shareholder in Lifeway for more than two decades and was exploring a third attempt at an acquisition just last month. The companies signed a confidentiality agreement allowing Danone to conduct due diligence ahead of any potential deal.
While kefir sales have soared due to their digestion and protein benefits, Danone appears to believe the benefits of adding Lifeway are no longer worth exploring, at least at the price tag being sought.
Danone is no stranger to healthy dairy products, with a yogurt portfolio that includes probiotic-focused Activia and low-sugar Too Good yogurts. Recently, the company brought its Oikos brand into the $7 billion protein shake market and launched a yogurt drink under the brand aimed at GLP-1 users.
Lifeway has remained hostile to the prospect of a Danone takeover, previously calling the dairy giant a “toxic business partner” that engaged in “corporate bullying” to convince the kefir maker to sell.
“With the distraction of Danone’s unsolicited proposal now behind us, we will continue to focus on executing our growth strategy to create value for all our shareholders, employees, partners and customers,” Lifeway said in a statement.
Lifeway underscored its recent success, noting that it has recorded 22 consecutive quarters of growth and posted “record-breaking” sales in the first two quarters of 2025.
The decision to abandon a purchase of Lifeway also creates another wrinkle in the long-running family saga affecting the company, giving Danone an opportunity to oust current CEO Julie Smolyansky.
Smolyansky’s brother and mother want shareholders to vote out Julie and the board, citing corporate governance failures they said have harmed the business.
Danone agreed not to vote its shares in favor of the relatives’ proposal while it considered a buyout. But with the acquisition off the table, Danone is free to vote its share however it prefers.
Danone said in its SEC filing that it has not yet decided how it will vote.
