danone

Danone said it had discovered that Zong Qinghou, the Wahaha chief, had set up a string of factories that supplied only the joint venture.

In a statement last Friday, Danone claimed its trademark contract was valid and said Mr Zong's statements were damaging the company.

Danone said it was also not in a position fully to take over Huiyuan as it was focusing on the natural water segment of the drinks market.

"There have been disagreements for some time so I assume Danone planned for the worst-case scenario, " he said.

Wahaha said the Hangzhou court's decision was "fair and just" , but Danone said it would appeal to a higher court.

Danone said its water met international health standards and that it did not think the decision was linked to the dispute with Wahaha.

"Danone audits the company every year, " its statement said. "It is impossible they did not know. "

Mr. Zong has had other corporate battles, notably a bitter falling-out with his joint venture partner Danone, the French food giant.

The only grumbles came from analysts worrying that Danone might be paying too much.

However, Lu Jinyong at the Foreign Economic and Trade University in Beijing, says Danone should be able to stabilise the business.

When Danone, a French food giant, acquired a 51% stake in Wahaha Beverage, a Chinese firm, in 1996, it considered it a coup.

By 1996 he had decided to move into bottled water and did a deal with Danone to help expand.

And Danone is not the only company to have reasons for concern.

In an interview, ZONG Qinghou also told reporters, "It was QIN Peng from Danone who accused me of tax evasion. "

Danone faces an uphill battle if it is to restore stability to the joint venture, which accounts for 75 per cent of its China operations.

If Mr Zong is to squeeze Danone out of control of the Wahaha brand, he will need to rely on his own energies.

In his new book, Mr Yunus describes how Grameen and Danone agreed on a joint venture to sell nutritious food to the poor.

Danone has transformed itself into a health foods company after selling beer, biscuits, cheese and snacks assets.

Mr Zong has long chafed at some of the terms of the initial deal, which gave Danone control with a 51 per cent stake.

In a celebrated display of pique, France declared the yogurt-maker Danone a strategic national asset after rumours of an American takeover.

Danone said yesterday that it was hard even to count the number of lawsuits that the dispute has generated.

The structure morphology of danone and its processibility, curing characteristics and dispersity in BR compound were investigated.

Danone accused Wahaha this week of setting up a parallel operation that bottled and sold the same drinks as the joint venture.

However, while creating a "formidable competitor in Russia" , PepsiCo's move may not be the setback for Danone that it first appears.

Danone said it was in contact with the local government in Hangzhou , where Wahaha is based , to discuss " management continuity " .

A French prime minister even declared that Danone, a yogurt-maker, was in a strategic industry when an American rival came sniffing.

Danone responded yesterday that Mr Zong had independently set up a string of factories that only produced goods for the joint venture.

Mr Faber said Danone had put on hold six different lawsuits against Mr Zong in mainland China as a sign of good faith.

Danone has subsequently dropped most of its claims that Activia yoghurts and Actimel drinks boost the immune system.

Danone did not comment publicly on the letter.

Wahaha executives also said Danone had invested in Chinese competitors, in violation of the joint venture agreements.

As one of the top ten beverage manufacturers in China, Robust is now a member of DANONE Group, a Fortune 500 company.

The main obstacle was that Danone, a French dairy giant, also wanted to buy it.

Danone has agreed to sell its 51% interest in the Danone-Wahaha Joint-Ventures to its Chinese partners.

In France, it has been invoked to defend Danone, a food processor, against the threat of takeover.

It recently opened four branches in fat-phobic Shanghai, in a joint venture with Danone, the French food group.

Big customers such as ArcelorMittal (steel) or Danone (food products) want fast, pan-European freight services that do not stop at borders.

As the French Danone Group a yogurt, its product name to travel overseas to " and " legal name as " yogurt " .

In his battle with Danone, Mr Zong has tried to use his political contacts.

Danone's travails do not signal a return to these days.

This legal trick forms the basis of the current dispute between Danone and Zong's now privatised family company.

Danone gets more than 40 percent of its sales from emerging markets, a higher proportion than bigger rival Nestle SA.

Danone accused Mr Zong of setting up copycat operations outside its joint ventures to sell competing Wahaha products.

One model was Danone, the French food and water company that makes yoghurts and other dairy drinks that it claims enhance health.

He chose the National People's Congress in March to go public with his attacks on Danone.

Wahaha said last Friday that Danone had known about the factories since the agreement was signed in 1996.

Mr Zong fought for years with Danone, his joint venture partner in China, over the right to exploit the Wahaha trademark.

While the panel quietly issued a "partial award" to Danone on September 30, the two companies agreed to settle their dispute out of court.

The lawsuits and arbitrations launched by Danone in foreign lands also have gone nowhere due to lack of evidence.

Y&R is a leading creative agency on Danone China, while Euro RSCG China handles Danone's premium water brand Evian.

France's Groupe Danone SA has sold drinkable yogurt in the U. S. for more than six years.

Danone, by contrast, is the top dog in Europe and has 25% of sales in emerging markets.

Danone, purveyor of dairy goods and French national "jewel" , is running into a spot of bother in China.

They cast doubt on Kraft's ability to fund a takeover, as its acquisition of Danone biscuits and cereals increased its debt burden to $15bn.

The parallel operation was so large, Danone said, that it was making similar profits to the joint venture.

When Danone made its investment, Wahaha says it knew little about business and welcomed a partner.

Unilever said western Europe weighed on growth, while Groupe Danone SA said last month consumption in that region will continue to suffer.

Winning in the courts or pushing out Mr Zong, therefore, are not solutions to Danone's problems.

Today, Evian is owned by Danone Group, a French multinational company.

For the past decade, Danone has benefited richly from Mr Zong's entrepreneurial energy.

For yoghurt, Danone buys raw milk locally but only from large dairy farms.

Overseas, he is best known for waging a legal battle against Danone, the French food group.

GUANGZHOU DANONE YOGHURT COMPANY LTD.

Danone is definitely not the exlusive tough one.

There are important exceptions. Danone, a food-products firm, is one.

Danone, a food firm, hires people for one-off management roles.

Danone, technically, has the upper hand, holding 51 per cent of the equity.

In a recent interview with CCTV, Zong confessed he had cheated the government and the people on the issue of twin-contracts with Danone.

Danone Group is a leading multinational Food Group in the world.

None of this is much solace to Danone.

The clash could derail Danone's plans to expand in China, where the soft drinks market is growing rapidly.

Nor is Danone a great fit for Coca-Cola.

Danone could sell the unit for $5 billion to $7 billion, the newspaper reported.

Danone owns 51 per cent of Britannia in a 50-50 joint venture with Wadia Group, an Indian conglomerate.

"The real rule violator is Danone, " Wahaha said.

Who does Danone ring The Alert Bell for?

Mr Zong claims Danone reneged on their joint venture agreement by acquiring rival businesses in China.

French bosses badly need to follow in the footsteps of Danone and other modernisers.

Danone is also increasing production and supplies of its brands that are already available in China, in order to meet demand there.

According to Danone, Mr Zong's response was conflict.

If companies such as Danone are any indication, France may now be leading the way for responsible business.

Mr Zong denied all of Danone's claims.

In early June of 2006, Danone sued Wahaha.

Danone began legal proceedings in China against Wahaha in April.

France, for example, has long described yogurt maker Danone as a strategic national asset.

It accounts for 5-6 per cent of Danone's operating profits.

Last year Danone said it would quit its troubled joint venture with Wahaha, China's leading soft-drinks producer.

"Danone vs. Wahaha: Who is having the Last Laugh? " , (with Zhigang Tao, and Shang-jin Wei), Asia Case Research Center, 2008.

Danone is placing a big bet on Russia.

Danone's woes in China and India may seem extreme.

Danone has 20 factories and 9, 000 employees in China but has faced obstacles.

Warburg Pincus and France's Danone made cornerstone investments in Huiyuan months ahead of its Hong Kong listing in February 2007.

Danone and Warburg Pincus made cornerstone investments in Huiyuan months ahead of its Hong Kong listing in February 2007.

What is it with Danone?

Cobi starred in his own TV show, The Cobi Troupeand his image was used to market products like Coca-Cola and Danone

At the formation in early 1996, Wahaha and Danone were joined by Hong Kong-based Baifu.

Danone Profit Rises on Yogurt, Water Sales in Emerging Markets - BusinessWeek Danone Profit Rises on Yogurt, Water Sales in Emerging Markets