The world's largest branded yoghurt maker is eager to enter the world's largest market
Mumbai-based Wadia group and French food major Groupe Danone are currently fighting it out in the Bombay high court with the next hearing scheduled for January 10, 2006.
Groupe Danone is contemplating an exit from the biscuits category in India, due to low margins and a plethora of small manufacturers.
The IPR committee of the Britannia board was created in May 2006 to deal with all IPR matters. For the last one year, the committee has been working to resolve the issue of the use and registration of Tiger by Groupe Danone in several countries.
Britannia executives were, however, non-committal on whether the company had initiated discussions to return the Little Hearts trademark and the right to use the product recipe back to Groupe Danone.
The advantage could translate into Groupe Danone buying the Wadias's stake in Wadia BSN, the 11-year-old venture between the two groups, and hence pave the way for Groupe Danone doing business on its own in India.
In India, Danone holds a 25.5 per cent stake in market leader Britannia Industries through holding company Associated Biscuits International Holdings.
The euro 14 billion French dairy major, Groupe Danone, has formally initiated arbitration proceedings to end its partnership with the Mumbai-based Wadia group.
After fighting for over four years, Groupe Danone and the Wadias have struck a deal that will see the French food giant exit their biscuit joint venture, Britannia Industries Ltd.
French dairy major Groupe Danone has offered to pay the Wadia Group euro1 million ($1.34 million) as compensation to use its Tiger brand in international markets.
The two groups have another JV, Wadia BSN, set up in 1996 to launch Groupe Danone's products from its global portfolio. However, nothing has been launched through the JV till date and Danone is in negotiations with the Wadias to dissolve the JV.
Avesthagen's promoters also refute violation of non-compete clause.
A year after its split with Britannia, the French dairy major is betting big on milk products. But the task ahead is tricky
French dairy major Groupe Danone and Mumbai-based Wadia Group on Tuesday gave the finishing touches to a pact to end their 13-year-old joint venture for running Britannia Industries, India's largest food products firm. With it, they buried their bitter intellectual property disputer over the Tiger brand.
Groupe Danone, the global dairy products major based in France, netted a capital gain of Rs 380 crore ( $56 million) when it recently divested its indirect 25.5 per cent holding in the Bangalore-based biscuit major Britannia Industries.
The intellectual property rights battle between Britannia Industries and French dairy and beverages giant, Groupe Danone, is heading for an early breakthrough.
The Wadia group is looking to renegotiate the price of Groupe Danone's stake in Britannia Industries following the market slump and the credit squeeze in the global markets.
In the latest annual report posted on its website, Danone has said it is negotiating with its partner with a view to selling its 25.5 per cent indirect stake in Britannia.
The government on Friday said it would examine a complaint by the Mumbai-based textile-to-food conglomerate Wadia group against Groupe Danone, its French joint venture partner in Britannia Industries Ltd.
It will take legal action against French food giant Group Danone, for nauthorised use of the Tiger biscuit brand in other countries.
Probiotics are special bacteria with the unique ability to reach the intestine alive and make a positive contribution in the functioning of the digestive system.
Royalty terms with Danone for brand on the cards.
The move will result in Britannia and Wadia BSN, being dismantled.
In the last month and a half, Danone has announced initiatives in China, Japan and Thailand, indicating a significant role played by Asia in the gameplan of the Euro13 billion dairy major.
The ongoing tussle between the Mumbai-based Wadia group and European food major Groupe Danone, which was scheduled for a hearing in the Bombay high court on January 10, will now be heard on January 12.
As it turns out, in recent years, companies operating in India have been increasing royalty and technical payments to their parent or associate companies at a fast pace.
The Bombay high court on Tuesday restrained French dairy major Groupe Danone from selling the shares of Avesthagen, a Bangalore-based bionutritional company.
French firm in talks with Wadias over future relationship.
Dispute over competing investments may carry on.
"Danone is seeking majority stake, but we are not going to do that. Danone is one of the few international companies with whom we are negotiating to be our partner in the value added dairy project, but we have not yet finalised it," Keventer Group chairman M K Jalan told PTI. "We want a structure where Keventer and the international partner will hold 44.5 per cent each and Rajasthan government 11 per cent for offering the land for the project," he said.
Britannia, which holds over 38 per cent of the market in value terms, is investing Rs 130 crore (Rs 1.3 billion) to increase its capacity, 433,000 tonnes of biscuit last year, by 20,000 tonnes.The move is designed to wrest market leadership in volume terms as well, a position now held by rival Parle.
The onus to provide proof that the new project would not jeopardise the interests of the existing joint venture lies equally with the foreign investor and the Indian partner.
Even as the textile-to-airline Wadia group and French dairy major Groupe Danone try to settle their differences on joint venture agreements, the legal battle between them in the Avesthagen case shows no signs of abating.
But their reign has been tumultuous as the company has seen compelling battles for ownership.
It may be the season for corporate matchmaking but India Inc's record of managing partnerships is far from impressive, says Shailesh Dobhal.
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