Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods Announces Agreement to Acquire Danone's Shareholding

The sale of the shares by Danone is conditional upon the appropriate governmental approvals of the merger of Danone’s Fresh Dairy Product businesses in the CIS region and Unimilk.

Aug 13 2010 --- Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC announced that the Company has reached an agreement to purchase Danone’s 18.4% shareholding in Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods OJSC for the total consideration of US$470 million. The stake includes both local shares and ADRs. The transaction will be funded from existing resources and will not require additional financing.

The sale of the shares by Danone is conditional upon the appropriate governmental approvals of the merger of Danone’s Fresh Dairy Product businesses in the CIS region and Unimilk.

Commenting on the announcement, Tony Maher, CEO of Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods, said: “We are very pleased to announce the acquisition of Danone’s stake in our company. This agreement represents the amicable conclusion of Danone’s investment in our company, an investment Danone has held since our IPO in February 2002. This announcement and the outright purchase of our own shares reflect our confidence in the fundamentals of the business and our strategy for the future.”