Food group Danone to sell stake in China Mengniu Dairy Company (updated)

China Mengniu Dairy

12/05/2021 09:53

(Adds detail and background)
    PARIS, May 12 (Reuters) - Danone  DANO.PA , under pressure
from investment funds over its returns, will sell a 9.8% stake
in China Mengniu Dairy Company  2319.HK , the food group said on
Wednesday.
    China Mengniu Dairy has an equity market capitalisation of
around 166 billion Hong Kong dollars ($21.4 billion) meaning a
sale of Danone's stake could reap around $2.1 billion, based on
latest market prices.
    The French company, whose brands include Actimel yoghurt and
Evian water, said the sale would take place via an accelerated
bookbuilding process.
    Former Danone boss Emmanuel Faber was abruptly ousted as
chairman and CEO earlier this year following clashes with some
board members over strategy and calls from activist funds for
him to resign over the group's lackluster returns compared with
some rivals.
    French business paper Les Echos reported this week that
Antoine de Saint-Affrique was the frontrunner to be named as
Danone's new CEO. Danone declined to comment on that report.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nP6N2LM01P
    ($1 = 7.7660 Hong Kong dollars)

 (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; editing by Jason Neely and
Carmel Crimmins)
 ((sudip.kargupta@thomsonreuters.com; +33 1 49 49 53 84;))