EU says OK to Parmalat buy for Lactalis

The European Commission has given the green light to a takeover by French dairy giant Lactalis of Italy’s Parmalat, which would make Lactalis the world’s top dairy company. After examining the takeover bid, the European Union executive “concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in Italy or any other European” territory under its remit, it says in a statement.
The announcement in March that Lactalis had acquired almost 29% of Parmalat shares caused upset in Italy. Faced with opposition from the Italian government, Lactalis then launched a takeover bid at EUR2.60 a share for 55 percent of the capital. This was rejected by Parmalat’s board on grounds it “did not fully reflect” the value of the company.
However, things have changed as the head of Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo, which owns around 2.4% of Parmalat and made a failed bid to counter the Lactalis takeover, now says it is “likely” it would sell its stake to Lactalis. This would add to Lactalis’ majority control.