Chinese dairy company Yili is bidding to buy Stonyfield, one of the top organic yogurt manufacturers in the U.S. and a holding subsidiary of the French dairy giant Danone.
Stonyfield was founded in 1983 and Danone started purchasing Stonyfield shares from 2001 and gradually controlled the company. In 2016, Stonyfield’s turnover was about US$370 million and its net profit was US$50 million.
On March 31, 2017, Danone said that to accelerate its acquisition of WhiteWave, an American dairy and organic food maker, the company would sell its American subsidiary Stonyfield. This is a part of the antitrust agreement reached between Danone and U.S. Department of Justice in order to complete the WhiteWave acquisition. On April 13, 2017, Danone announced the completion of the WhiteWave acquisition.
Yili reportedly offered to buy Stonyfield for US$850 million. Yili’s competitors include American local dairy maker Dean Foods.
