Posted by Turgut Ziyal on Monday, March 8, 2010
Under: dairy
If rumors are correct yes!
Shares of Dean Foods Co, the largest U.S. milk producer, jumped as much as 8.3 percent, fueled by talk that France's Danone could acquire the company. "There is a rumor circulating that Groupe Danone is interested in acquiring Dean Foods. That possibility has spurred call option buying today in the stock," said Jud Pyle, chief investment strategist at Options News Network, a division of option market making firm PEAK6 Investments.
A spokesman for Danone declined to comment on the chatter. A spokeswoman for Dean did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Analysts questioned whether Dean would be a target for Danone, which has been focusing on growing health oriented businesses like Activia yogurt in the U.S. While Dean does sell Silk soymilk, its dairy milk business is seen as a commodity operation with little pricing power.
"They (Danone) have growth opportunities in health and wellness. I would much rather they focus on that," Morningstar analyst Phil Gorham said.
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