Danone Completes WhiteWave Acquisition

13 Apr 2017 --- French multinational Danone has completed the acquisition of organic producer Whitewave and under the merger agreement, the two will combine activities in North America to operate under the name “DanoneWave."

Making the announcement today (Apr 13) Danone says WhiteWave shareholders will receive $56.25 per share in cash and completion of the transaction means the WhiteWave common stock has ceased trading prior to market opening today and will now be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.

The strategic business unit DanoneWave will include Danone dairy’s and WhiteWave’s current North American businesses under new CEO Lorna Davis. Alpro will join forces with Danone Dairy as a key pillar of its new plant-based category, managed by Gustavo Valle, with the aim to expand and grow the plant-based category around the world.

”I am thrilled that we have completed the acquisition of WhiteWave”, said Emmanuel Faber, CEO of Danone. “Danone and WhiteWave are a perfect match to build a global leader leveraging consumer trends and expectations for healthier and more sustainable eating and drinking choices.”

“With leading positions in some of the fastest growing, health-focused categories, this combination will drive our Alimentation Revolution, our business performance, and will accelerate our 2020 growth journey.”

“I am convinced that the combined experience and capabilities of our new management team and the extensive preparation work done by the integration team since July will capture the great business opportunities ahead and fully deliver our synergy plan.”

“I am therefore fully confident that we will drive strong value creation and deliver the attractive financial benefits we outlined last July. We now look forward to welcoming our talented new team members from WhiteWave".