12 January 2006 - Danone Asia Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Groupe DANONE S.A., has entered into an agreement for the sale of its AMOY businesses to AJINOMOTO Co., Inc. for a total consideration of about EUR 190 million.
With an estimated turnover of around EUR 77 million in 2005 AMOY is a very profitable group operating out of Hong Kong and mainland China.
AMOY is engaged in the production, marketing and sale of Asian sauces and frozen foods mainly to the Hong Kong, mainland China, US and UK markets under the Amoy brand. Amoy is a widely recognised Asian food brand, with leading positions in the soya sauce and frozen dim sum segments in Hong Kong, as well as in certain other geographical markets.
Following the announcement of the divestiture of HP Foods and Lea & Perrins in June 2005, the sale of AMOY marks the completion of the Group’s efforts in refocusing its operations on three core strategic businesses – Fresh Dairy Products, Water and Non-alcoholic Beverages, and Biscuits.
The transaction takes effect as from today. Groupe DANONE will book an after tax capital gain in excess of EUR 100 million in its 2006 accounts.
In 2004 Groupe DANONE posted sales of more than 2 billion euros in Asia with strong positions on the water market (n° 1 in packaged water in China and Indonesia) and the biscuit market (leader in Malaysia, India and China, n°2 in Indonesia). Last October, Groupe DANONE opened in Shanghai a research center dedicated to fresh dairy products. The center's mission is to conceive and develop products that meet local nutrition and health needs and are suited to the tastes of Asian consumers, particularly in China, India and Indonesia.