Exclusive negotiations on a merger between Entremont Alliance and Sodiaal are to be re-opened after Lactalis’ bid for the struggling emmental maker was rejected.
Unifem, the holding company behind Entremont, has said it favours Sodiaal’s offer.
“Having been presented with offers from Lactalis and Sodiaal, Unifem’s board of directors decided unanimously to pursue negotiations with Sodiaal alone, being of the view that it was the only one acceptable to all the parties concerned,” Unifem said. No reasons were given as to why Lactalis’ bid had been turned down.
Negotiations between Sodiaal and Unifem will take place under the auspices of an inter-ministerial committee on industrial restructuring (Ciri), the next stage in the process scheduled for mid-January.
The two groups first began talks on a possible merger in August this year and these moved on to an exclusive basis in September for one month and renewable for a further month.
The exclusivity clause expired on 30 November without an agreement being reached. This prompted a bid from Lactalis, which was submitted last week.
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By GlobalData