Yoplait head says Nestlé is ideal partner

The head of French dairy food company Yoplait has said in a newspaper interview that Swiss food giant Nestle would make an “ideal” partner, with major investment planned in China and India. Yoplait, the world’s second-biggest dairy food producer, is in the midst of a battle to take over a 50 per cent stake in the company that investment group PAI wants to sell.

Chief executive Lucien Fa told the Swiss newspaper Le Matin Dimanche that he wanted to break with the company’s franchise system and take greater control of operations in local markets. “That means big investments, especially for China and India, our priorities,” he explained. Nestle is “in terms of the company profile, the ideal candidate,” Fa was quoted as saying. “It has the money, the structures, the people. It’s everywhere and shares (our) concern for products that are good for health,” and would help “reduce the gap with Danone,” he added.

Yoplait’s owners recently rejected a EUR1.4 bn, 100 per cent takeover offer from French group Lactalis. Yoplait is present in 50 countries and employs 1,500 people. It has global sales of about EUR3.5bn.