Yoplait, a French yogurt firm, has plenty of suitors

FIVE years ago the French were in a tizzy over rumours that Danone, the world’s biggest maker of yogurts, would fall prey to an American giant, PepsiCo. The prime minister even put the firm on a list of companies to be kept under French ownership. Now Yoplait, the second-biggest yogurt outfit, is on the market. PAI Partners, a French private-equity company, is selling 50% of the firm. The rest is held by Sodiaal, France’s biggest dairy co-operative. Once again, bidders are hovering hungrily.

Demand for yogurt is booming across the world. According to a recent study by YouGov SixthSense, a market-research firm, it is the fastest-growing sector in the British dairy industry. The Chinese have been converted to an unfamiliar product in part by the addition of small plastic spoons to pots. Danone is placing a big bet on Russia. Earlier this year it merged its Russian subsidiary with Unimilk, a domestic dairy firm, creating a company that captures more than one-fifth of the Russian market. Even America is considered an emerging market when it comes to yogurt. According to Yoplait, the average Frenchman spoons 30kg of the stuff per year compared with only 10kg for Americans. …