Danone’s Galbani sale cleared

EUROPE – The European Commission announced on Tuesday that it has cleared Danone’s sale of its Italian cheese and ham subsidiary Galbani.

The sale to UK buyout specialist BC Partners Holdings can now go ahead.

Danone confirmed in February that it would sell Galbani to BC for 1.02 billion euro after a deal with Italian food group Parmalat fell through.

BC Partners claims that Galbani’s distribution network will allow it to introduce new products. It also plans to market the brand further outside Italy.

Galbani has a turnover of 1.1billion euro and is the largest cheese brand in Italy. The deal is part of Danone’s drive to concentrate on its yogurt, water and biscuit brands.