French dairy cooperative Groupe Sodiaal on Wednesday denied media reports it was planning to sell its Yoplait yoghurt business and had contracted bankers Rothschild & Cie to see through a sale. French daily La Tribune said on Wednesday that Sodiaal was planning to sell off its lucrative Yoplait brand and had given Rothschild a mandate to carry out a sale by September.But Sodiaal has denied this. "No sales mandate has been awarded for September or for any other period to anyone at all," Sodiaal said in a statement. It said it was working with two financial advisers to identify resources to help it continue its development. After losses in 1999 Sodiaal said it had registered a positive pre-tax, pre-exceptional profit in 2000, had reduced its debt, and improvement was continuing in 2001. "In this context...the Sodiaal group is seeking to pursue the development of its Yoplait brand as much in France as abroad where the market for fresh dairy products is experiencing strong growth," it said. The newspaper listed French food group Danone, Switzerland's Nestle, U.S. firm General Mills and the Netherlands' Campina as credible buyers.
