Danone raises takeover offer for Lifeway Foods

French dairy giant Danone has increased its bid to buy US-based kefir and fermented probiotic products maker Lifeway Foods outright.

The company, which is already a minority shareholder in Lifeway, has tabled an offer worth approximately US$27 per share.

Earlier this month, Lifeway rejected Danone’s “opportunistic” takeover bid for US$25 a share, arguing the bid “substantially undervalued” the business.

After consulting with independent financial and legal advisers, the Lifeway board of directors decided that the dairy multinational’s “opportunistic offer substantially undervalues” the company and is not in the firm’s or its shareholders’ best interest.

According to Danone, the new offer represents a 72% premium over the three-month volume-weighted average price of Lifeway’s shares as of the last trading day before the Activia maker’s initial proposal on September 23, 2024.

At present, Danone holds about 23.4% of Lifeway’s common shares.

Danone’s “disappointing” proposal

In a statement, Lifeway said it had received Danone’s “revised, unsolicited, non-binding proposal” and would consider the new offer.

In a letter published last week, Shane Grant, Danone’s deputy CEO, wrote to Lifeway chair, president and CEO Julie Smolyansky expressing “disappointment in the board’s response to the initial proposal.”

He said Danone believes that the sweetened offer “fully reflects the fundamental potential” of Lifeway and provides the US group’s shareholders “the certainty of an attractive and immediate cash premium.”

Grant said: “We continue to believe Lifeway has an attractive opportunity to achieve its full potential through a combination with Danone, removing the constraints and additional resources required for a publicly listed company of Lifeway’s size.”