Mumbai, Aug 29 - French food company Danone will exit its Indian joint venture with India's Wadia Group, a move that will resolve disputes between the parties, the Economic Times said, citing a source close to the development.
Danone and the diversified Wadia Group hold equal stakes in Associated Biscuits International Holdings, which controls top Indian biscuit maker Britannia Industries Ltd
"The negotiations are now almost over and the lawyers from both sides are now going through the paper work", the paper said on Friday, citing this source.
An agreement, which cedes control of the joint venture to the Wadias, is expected to be signed as soon as Danone pays a dividend for the fiscal year 2007/08, the paper said.
Danone will then exit the venture, perhaps "as early as next week", the paper said.
As part of the agreement, all the legal suits filed by the Wadias against Danone would be dropped, the paper said.
A spokeswoman for the Wadia Group did not return calls seeking comment.
The Wadia Group has had a rocky relationship with Danone, having taken the French firm to court over a strategic stake in an Indian biotech firm that Wadia said violated a non-compete clause in their joint-venture agreement.
Danone, which last year sold its biscuit and cereal snack unit to Kraft Foods Inc, excluding its stakes in its Indian and Latin American businesses, is keen to tap the expanding market for packaged foods in India on its own.