French food company Danone’s $10 billion acquisition of soy milk producer WhiteWave Foods last July has created the country’s largest dairy entity, outside of cheese, and the largest public-benefit corporation in the U.S.
With the deal complete, Danone announced the launch of the combined company DanoneWave on Tuesday.
The company will have more than $6 billion in revenue and 6,000 employees, according to the company press release, and will split its headquarters between White Plains and Broomfield, Colorado.
DanoneWave will enter the market as a top 15 food and beverage company in the U.S. As a public-benefit corporation, DanoneWave must be “managed in a way that balances shareholders”™ financial interests and the benefits it brings to people, the planet and broader society,” according to the company.
“From our beginning we aspire to create economic, environmental and social value in our everyday decisions about how we operate DanoneWave,” said Lorna Davis, CEO of DanoneWave. “We”™ll do this in the interest of our shareholders, employees, consumers, customers, and suppliers, and improve the impact of our activities on the environment.”
Danone completed the acquisition of WhiteWave is April, after the Department of Justice gave the deal its final necessary approvals, pending the sale of Danone”™s organic dairy subsidiary Stonyfield.
The deal creates a dairy company that includes grocery store staples such as Activia, Dannon, Earthbound Farm, Horizon Organic premium dairy products, International Delight coffee creamers and iced coffee, Light & Fit, Oikos Greek yogurt, Silk plant-based foods and beverages and Wallaby Organic.
The company also announced an advisory committee to guide DanoneWave in its efforts as a public-benefit corporation. The company outlined part of its mission as encouraging healthy dietary practices and promoting a “model of sustainable growth with a view to creating economic and social value.”
Danone announced in February that it was moving its U.S. headquarters from Greenburgh to downtown White Plains. Starting next year, the company will occupy 80,000 square feet on the first and fourth floors of the 240,000-square-foot The Source building at 100 Bloomingdale Road in the city.
At the time of the announcement, Danone promised to bring 400 employees to the new site, with a projected 150 additional jobs within the next five years.
