Private equity group PAI Partners has denied reports in the French media that it is planning to sell its 50% stake in Yoplait, the yoghurt and milk-based desserts maker.

“Contrary to a recent press report, I can confirm that there is no process underway to put the Yoplait stake up for sale in June this year,” a spokesman for PAI told just-food this afternoon.

“That’s not to say that PAI Partners will never sell the stake but at the present time it is not on the agenda,” he added.  

French dairy co-operative Sodiaal, which is currently negotiating the acquisition of Entremont Alliance, sold half of its Yoplait business to PAI in 2002 against a backdrop of financial difficulties.

Rumours that PAI was preparing to sell the stake first surfaced in May 2007 ahead of the expiration of a five-year shareholder pact between PAI and Sodiaal scheduled for July of that year. However, the sale never materialised.

Sodiaal is thought to have first refusal on any sale of the shareholding but this has not been confirmed.

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