Shanghai, April 13 - Groupe Danone and its joint venture partner Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co. failed to reach an agreement to resolve their long-running disputes by the April 10 deadline for their talks, Caijing magazine reported Friday.
Danone and Zong entered into negotiations in December after Danone lost a ruling by a Chinese arbitration commission in a dispute over whether the Wahaha trademark belonged to the joint venture. Danone said at that time that it would appeal the ruling.
Danone is willing to put an end to the disputes by selling its stake in the joint venture if the two parties can reach an agreement on the financial terms, Caijing quoted an unnamed Danone spokesperson as saying.
Danone spokesman Michael Chu and Wahaha spokesman Shan Qining declined to comment on the story and on the current status of the talks.
The long-running dispute between the two parties centers around the joint venture's ownership of the Wahaha trademark and Danone's allegations that Zong had been illegally selling products identical to those sold by the companies' joint ventures.