Danone looks at India buys, may target Dumex

PARIS | NEW DELHI: French food group Danone, that is scouting for acquisitions in India, could be eyeing baby food maker Dumex India as a possible target. Both Danone India and Wockhardt, the owner of Dumex India, declined comment.

Danone, the world’s largest fresh dairy products maker, had said it would invest nearly 300 crore in the dairy business in India and shift focus to affordable nutrition.

In April last year, a Wockhardt-Abbott deal to sell nutrition business formalised in July 2009 had fizzled out. Abbott had agreed to buy Wockhardt’s nutrition business for an estimated 625 crore but the deal had fallen through on account of Wockhardt’s inability to resolve debt-restructuring issues with some of its lenders.

Wockhardt’s portfolio included nutritional brands Protinex and Farex, which had come into its stable through the acquisition of Dumex India in 2006.

The French daily Les Echos said Dumex India would be a natural target for Danone, which already owns most Dumex operations in Asia, as part of its acquisition of Dutch baby food group Numico in 2007. Earlier this year, Danone, the world’s largest yoghurt maker, merged with Russian dairy group Unimilk, securing 21% of the fast-growing Russian dairy market. Danone — whose last transformational deal was the $17.18 billion purchase of Numico — has said it was looking at expanding through deals in dairy, medical nutrition, baby food and emerging countries.