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The French dairy cooperative Sodiaal is in exclusive talks with General Mills in the hope of acquiring the European branch of Yoplait.
An exchange
At the beginning of this month, the first rumours began to circulate that General Mills wanted to sell Yoplait’s European operations to Sodiaal. The French cooperative already owns 49 per cent of the assets in that area. However, there was no official confirmation of the negotiations at the time, but now it seems that the deal would be completed by the end of this year, writes French news channel LSA.
According to the agreement, Sodiaal will, through Yoplait SAS, manage the yoghurt brand’s operations in France, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom and Sweden and a network of 28 franchisees that produce and distribute the brand in more than 40 countries. In 2020, that division still had a turnover of more than 660 million euros. The acquisition would significantly strengthen Sodiaal’s consumer division and pilot cooperation in the ten largest branded food companies in France.
For its part, General Mills would take over Sodiaal’s 49 per cent stake in Yoplait Canada Holding, making it a separate subsidiary of General Mills. In other words: Yoplait SAS will be entirely owned by Sodiaal, and in return, General Mills will have full control over the Canadian and US operations of the yoghurt brand.
