Parmalat shares jump on buyout offer

Paris - Shares in Italian dairy Parmalat soared 10% on Tuesday after its leading investor offered to buy out other shareholders and take the company private.

Lactalis, one of the world's biggest dairy groups, offered to buy the remaining 12.26% of the company it took control of following a €3.4bn hostile takeover in 2011.

"After more than five years as leading shareholder of Parmalat, Lactalis Group intends to provide Parmalat with a new dynamic, which can be more easily and effectively achieved in the long term without recourse to the stock market," said the French group, the world's top producer of cheese and the company behind President camembert.

Lactalis said the offer price of €2.80 per share was a premium of almost 15% over Parmalat's average stock price during the past three months, and was at a level unseen since 2011.

If successful, Lactalis will spend €636m to gain full control.

Shares in Parmalat, which makes the Galbani brand of mozzarella cheese, shot up from €2.57 to €2.83 in afternoon trading.

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