Dive Brief:
- Danone ended its board meeting and issued a statement aimed at dampening speculation it would sell its medical nutrition unit, further confirmed by the board secretary, reports Reuters.
- Danone's board has been meeting in Paris this week specifically to discuss such a sale, according to news reports, as the company has struggled amid rising dairy prices and a drop in European sales.
- Danone, maker of Activa yogurt, Evian water, Dannon yogurt, and more, also tinkered with its economic projections.
Dive Insight:
Neither we, nor anyone else for that matter, most likely, were surprised last month by news that Danone had, in fact, received offers for its medical nutrition unit from a German healthcare company-led consortium and a private equity group. Nor should anyone be surprised by Danone's new statement suggesting it loves all its units and doesn't want to sell any of them.
We do, however, remain surprised that Nestle with its much-publicized interest in creating a new generation of medical foods, i.e., exercise in a bottle, hadn't surfaced as a bidder.