Danone to sell $1.9B Yakult stake

paris — French foods group Danone is to sell a €1.5 billion ($1.9 billion) stake in Japanese company Yakult in its latest initiative to boost shareholder returns.

Leading consumer groups including Danone, the world’s largest yoghurt maker, as well as Nestle and Unilever, have come under pressure from some shareholders who say they should be producing better returns.

Danone, whose brands include Activia and Actimel as well as Evian water, said it would sell 14 per cent of Yakult, equating to two-thirds of its holding, as part of a strategy to have a more disciplined approach to how it invests its capital.

Gregoire Laverne, a fund manager at Roche Brune Asset Management which owns Danone shares, said the move was positive.

danone is meeting its commitments for a better capital allocation Gregoire Laverne, fund manager at Roche Brune Asset Management

“Danone is sending a strong signal,” Laverne said. “It is meeting its commitments for a better capital allocation. Now the question is: what will it do with the cash?”

Danone said it would comment further on the possible use of the proceeds when the deal is completed in March.

It has held the Yakult stake for more than a decade but there has long been speculation it would look to divest. The sale will be carried out via a market transaction initiated by Yakult and is expected to be settled in March.

Danone has lagged the growth of some rivals, largely due to weakness in its European dairy business. — Reuters