French dairy group Sodiaal and embattled local peer Entremont Alliance have entered exclusive merger negotiations.
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In a joint statement, the two groups said they were committed to reaching an agreement swiftly, with a view to creating a leading European dairy group.
Negotiations are taking place under the auspices of a French inter-ministerial committee, Ciri, which specialises in company restructuring.
Entremont has previously said that it was in negotiations with Sodiaal and Lactalis. However, an Entremont spokesman told just-food today (1 September) that the negotiations with Sodiaal are exclusive. “Lactalis submitted an offer but it was not retained,” he said.
Lactalis was not immediately available for comment.
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By GlobalDataSodiaal is viewed as a better fit because, unlike Lactalis, there is no overlap in activity and the companies already have a strong link – in 2007, they integrated their baby food, elaborated milk ingredients and nutritional and dietetic operations.
The Entremont spokesman declined to comment on the likely shareholder breakdown following the merger.
“While we are looking to make swift progress, we are at the beginning of the negotiation process with the two parties engaging in the reciprocal exchange of relevant information,” he said.
