Danone's takeover of WhiteWave Foods gains European clearance

Paris-based yogurt maker Danone’s $10.4bn takeover of US organic food company WhiteWave Foods, its biggest deal in a decade, was approved by the European Commission on Friday.

The Commission said the deal could go ahead providing Danone sell part of its milk business in Belgium as rival Nestle is its only competitor in the country.

The Commission said that it had “concerns that the merged entity would not have faced sufficient competitive pressure from the remaining player in this market."

The CAC 40 company hopes that the acquisition will enable it to gain access to customers of silk almond milk and organic salad and double its revenue in the US, which currently accounts for a fifth of its sales.

Shares in were down 0.02% 5o 61.30 cents and shares in WhiteWave Foods were up 0.27% to 55.46 cents at 1556 GMT.