Wimm-Bill-Dann company acquires 18.36% stake in company from Danone
MOSCOW. Nov 9 (Interfax) - Dicastor Holdings Ltd, a Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods company, has become the owner of an 18.36% stake in the parent company purchased from French Danone, Wimm-Bill-Dann said in a statement.
Wimm-Bill-Dann was notified of the change on November 9. Dicastor Holdings owns 8.466% of ordinary shares and 9.898% of shares in the form of ADRs.
Management board member Marina Kagan told Interfax Dicastor's shares were purchased from Danone for $470 million. The deal closed on October 29.
Danone sold its Wimm-Bill-Dann stake after it agreed a business combination with Wimm-Bill-Dann's main competitor, Unimilk. The government commission on foreign investment approved the deal in early August and the FAS approved creation of the Danone/Unimilk joint venture in October.
Wimm-Bill-Dann is a leading Russian dairy and juice producer. It has 36 production facilities in Russia and the CIS as well as retail affiliates in 26 cities. Revenue totaled $2.18 billion in 2009, 22.8% less than in 2008. EBITDA last year declined 15.1% to $306.6 million and net profit was down 14.6% to $116.5 million. The company's founders owned 42.3% of shares as of the end of 2009.
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