The European Commission has cleared Danone’s acquisition of WhiteWave in Phase I, subject to a commitment regarding “growing-up” milk (for children aged 1 to 3) in Belgium. During its investigation, the Commission assessed whether Danone’s dairy yoghurts and desserts compete with WhiteWave’s plant-based yoghurts and desserts (sold under the Alpro and Provamel brands). The Commission concluded that the transaction would not raise any competitive concerns in this regard and that the parties’ products are largely complementary as plant-based and dairy yoghurts/desserts were found not to be close substitutes.
A CRA team advised Danone during the proceedings in front of the European Commission.
For more details, please see the European Commission’s press release here.
