Lactalis has agreed to acquire Turkish dairy producer Ak Gıda from the country’s largest food company, Yıldız Holding.
The value of the transaction remains undisclosed, though the sale appears to represent a significant change of direction for Yıldız. The company was today expected to announce an initial public offering of Ak Gıda – a reported $118.4m’s worth of shares at between $2.14 and $2.56 per share, amounting to 45% of the overall company – before news broke of Lactalis’ acquisition yesterday evening.
The French dairy giant has so far declined to clarify whether it has taken a part- or full-share in Ak Gıda, whose products include the İçim brand of yogurt. The two companies generated revenues of €614m and €16bn respectively last year.
In March, we reported that two of Lactalis’ businesses were ordered to pay more than €60m for their role in a so-called “yogurt cartel” that engaged in widespread price fixing in France – by far the largest amount of an overall €190m’s worth of fines handed out by the country’s competition authority.
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