Danone shares firm after Wahaha deal

PARIS: Shares in global food industry giant Danone rose by 1.23 percent on Wednesday after an announcement that it had reached an amicable settlement in a dispute with Chinese company Wahaha.

Another factor was denial by Danone that it had a plan to buy US baby-food group Mead Johnson.

At mid-morning here, the price of shares in Danone, which is particularly strong in the dairy and bottled water industries, were being quoted at 41.00 euros.

Danone and Wahahah, the leading Chinese company in the sector of non-alcoholic drinks, said that they were ending a two-year dispute with an amicable agreement.

Danone is to sell its 51-percent interest in a joint venture Danone-Wahaha to its Chinese partners for an undisclosed sum.

The dispute centred on about 40 companies created by the founder of Wahaha which compete with the interests of Danone-Wahaha.

Danone also denied late on Tuesday that it had commissioned an investment bank to study a possible takeover of Mead Johnson, a world leader in the sector of baby food.