German dairy giant Unternehmensgruppe Theo Müller has declared its takeover bid for Robert Wiseman Dairies “unconditional” after securing almost 94% of the UK milk supplier’s shares.
Müller said today (7 February) it had either acquired or had acceptances for 93.9% of Wiseman.
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The yoghurt maker said that it would look to buy up the rest of Wiseman’s shares and said the milk firm would now apply to de-list from the London Stock Exchange.
Müller made its GBP279.5m (US$444.3m) bid for Wiseman, the largest milk supplier in the UK, last month. The Wiseman board declared the offer “fair and reasonable” and shareholders including the Wiseman family and UK dairy co-op First Milk, indicated they would accept the bid.
Wiseman executive chairman Robert Wiseman welcomed the prospect of the two companies joining forces, saying the deal would create a “leading, integrated dairy business in the UK”.
Müller CEO Heiner Kamps said the company’s acquisition of Wiseman was an “exciting strategic move by Müller to enter a new market segment in the UK”.
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By GlobalDataAnalysts, however, are divided over the benefits of the deal to Müller, with some questioning how much clout the takeover will give the company when dealing with the UK’s powerful retailers.
