Parmalat said today (3 May) that it had hired Goldman Sachs to advise the company on the EUR3.38bn takeover offer from French rival Lactalis.

The Italian dairy giant made the announcement this afternoon after a meeting of its board of directors.

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Last week, Lactalis, which owns a 29% stake in Parmalat, said it had made an offer for the rest of the business worth EUR2.60 a share.

Lactalis bought its first shares in Parmalat in March in two transactions. The second transaction saw the company buy 15.3% of Parmalat from three funds in a deal worth EUR2.80 a share. Reports in Italy have claimed Parmalat’s board could ask Lactalis to up its latest offer.

However, in a short statement, Parmalat did not indicate if it would demand a higher offer from Lactalis. Parmalat noted that the current tender offer had “not been requested, nor agreed to by the company”. It then detailed its legal and financial advisers on the bid, including Goldman Sachs.

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